BRI Ventures, the VC arm of Indonesia’s state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), has announced the first close of its Sembrani Nusantara fund at IDR150 billion (US$10.62 million).

As per a press note, this represents more than half of the fund’s IDR300 billion (US$21.24 million) closing target.

Launched in June 2020, the Sembrani Nusantara fund aims to build a pipeline for Indonesian startups to grow and find good exits.

The fund focuses on potential billion-dollar startups that are pursuing sustainable growth and real metrics, rather than hype-driven unicorns that are notorious for unrealistic and paper-based valuations.

As per a press release, the fund will announce new investment deals with two Indonesian startups this month.

Incoming investors are largely Indonesia-based, including VC firm Celebes Capital, Fazz Financial Group, serial investor Pandu Sjahrir, Indonesian fintech platform Investree, as well as Grab.

Also Read: Grab, BRI Ventures, Mandiri Capital join LinkAja’s US$100M Series B round

“We have been heartened by the response from Sembrani Nusantara Fund’s investors on this first close. The fund’s backers are primarily Indonesians with experience investing in startups and venture funds,” explained Nicko Widjaja, CEO of BRI Ventures.

“Some are startup founders themselves, who believe in our goal to build a pipeline of future, sustainable Indonesian champions,” he added.

Neneng Goenadi, Managing Director of Grab Indonesia, said, “The Sembrani Nusantara Fund managed by BRI Ventures shares our vision of building a robust and thriving tech ecosystem in Indonesia.”

“We want to help Indonesia-made tech and Indonesian startups to take the spotlight on the world stage and are committed to supporting this goal through funding, mentorship, and capability-building,” she remarked.

“We also believe that startups have a key role to play in advancing the digitalization of MSMEs and supporting Indonesia’s economic recovery. Through the Sembrani Nusantara Fund, we hope to give high-potential startups a boost as they help to accelerate the growth of Indonesia’s digital economy,” she further shared.

The fund aims to look beyond typical investment areas like fintech and focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

BRI Ventures claims it plays to its parent company’s strength as the world’s largest microfinance institution by aligning the fund’s investment thesis to focus on education, agro-maritime, retail, transportation, and healthcare sectors.

News of the first close represents a fresh boost to the deal landscape in Southeast Asia.

In the first half of 2020, the total number of tech deals dropped 15 per cent, with the total value of investments dipping by 13 per cent. Indonesia, however, remained a bright spot, accounting for 75 per cent of the total investment value.

Also Read: Dealing with fundraising problems? These three startups may have the answer

Widjaja explained, “With travel restrictions possibly making due diligence and dealmaking onerous for foreign VCs and investors, Indonesia-based investors now have the upper hand in knowing the lay of the land and understanding which startups to bet on.”

“The skyrocketing valuations predicated on building market share alone is no longer enough. Now the investment community has turned to find startups that can survive the Covid-19 stretch and carve a path to sustainable, profitable growth,” he opined.

The fund seeks to ensure diversity across investment cycles by helping local startups pursue IPOs as an exit route.

To that end, BRI Ventures and the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) recently formalized a joint partnership designed to help more local startups pursue IPOs on the local stock exchange.

Through its new fund, BRI Ventures is also exploring new ways for investors to participate in the nation’s startup community.

As the limited partner-general partner legal structure does not yet exist for Indonesian funds, the Sembrani Nusantara fund operates like a mutual fund, Widjaja noted.

“Given our investors’ collective goal of supporting the local digital economy and building a class of IPO-worthy startups, BRI Ventures recognizes that Sembrani Nusantara Fund may play a more active role in the local funding landscape going forward — offering a mixed bag of equity and venture debt options to promising tech companies,” he concluded.

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Image Credit: Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash

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Thousands of organisations – governments, healthcare providers, and businesses – are all asking the same questions as the spread of the virus slows: Which social distancing measures should we relax, when, and at what cadence? How do we prevent future outbreaks and the hike in COVID-19 infection cases globally. If one does occur, what resources will a local area need to stop another outbreak?

Data will answer these questions, and provoke more questions from these organisations, such as: How difficult will it be to acquire this data? Is it analytics-ready? How often is it updated? How much will it cost? Is there one place we can find this data and acquire new data sets as they emerge? Can we easily combine it with the data we own to reveal additional insights previously unavailable to us?

The data providers, and data analytic service providers, continue to step up. They are making available myriad solutions and data sets that rely on data about infection rates, population densities, the impact of social distance measures, and even weather patterns.

Every day, new data sets become available for free to help ensure a safe society in the months and years ahead after we gain control of COVID-19 and others like it.

However, these data and solution providers are asking their own questions to make this happen: How do we enable the consumers of these data sets, and at what pace? What data security measures do we need to take? What about data governance and data privacy? How much information can we share and how should we do that?

At the centre of everyone’s efforts is data. Technology companies have been busy enabling solutions and providing free data sets to help fight COVID-19 and to prevent new outbreaks as communities globally begin to relax social distancing measures.

Also Read: 99 Group acquires real estate portal and data provider SRX to expand market share in Singapore

A singular platform and marketplace solution to load, store, integrate, and securely share any amount or type of data is needed to prevent future outbreaks of COVID-19 as communities around the world relax social distancing policies.

According to Gartner, data marketplaces will grow to be one of the key trends, such that by 2022, 35 per cent of large organisations will be either sellers or buyers of data via formal online data marketplaces, up from 25 per cent in 2020.

Data marketplaces provide single platforms to consolidate third-party data offerings. These marketplaces provide centralised availability and access to analytics and other unique data sets that create economies of scale to reduce costs for third-party data.

To monetise data sets through data marketplaces, data and analytics leaders should establish a fair and transparent methodology by defining a data governance principle that ecosystem partners can rely on.

Paired with live, governed, secure, and instant data sharing as the foundation of its marketplace platform, providers have the ability to share read-only access of these data sets listed on the marketplace. This allows the data to remain live at all times, so data consumers can receive updates immediately from data providers.

Additionally, data marketplaces enable data consumers to utilise any of these data sets, providing them with the ability to combine them with their own data to acquire previously unobtainable insights. The data security, governance, and privacy features enable data providers and consumers to adhere to industry and regional data compliance regulations.

Both platform and marketplace are key to enabling these organisations to assemble these applications and data sets, build these tools, and make them available in days, not weeks or months, so they can have an impact now. They are connecting to each other’s data and tools through data marketplaces to enhance their solutions beyond what’s possible if they had worked in silos.

Also Read: Bursting the big data bubble: Why we don’t need more data scientists

Protecting humanity, protecting data

To help contain COVID-19 now and in the future, we need easily accessible data and tools that will have an immediate impact on both country and global levels. We also know that protecting the data required to achieve this goal is equally as important.

This is why all anonymised COVID-19 data sets should be managed by the organisations that compile them and the third-party organisations they have partnered with to review these initiatives for data accuracy, consent, anonymity, governance, and transience. It is important that technology companies do not own this data. Instead, technology providers need to enable these solutions to make these data sets and tools readily available.

Fully defeating COVID-19 will take much more than data. Yet until we have a vaccine, data will stay at the centre of this effort. Just as important, data sets and tools will help fight the next potential outbreak. Let’s not forget that this is humanity’s fight, albeit a long one, and unlocking the value of data has never been more critical.

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The-Wolfpack, an early-stage startup fund in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector, has announced its launch in Singapore.

Christened ‘The Wolfpack Pioneer VCC’, the US$5 million debut fund is focused on helping early-stage startups in APAC to reach customers through smarter media and experience-first strategies.

The fund, which is fully subscribed, aims to be the venture partner of choice for startups in the consumer goods, leisure and media sectors — who require strategic capital to drive growth in nuanced markets across Southeast Asia and Australia.

Also Read: Why Kay Mok Ku of Gobi Partners thinks VCs will become like influencers in a post-pandemic world

It will work closely with founders to scale strategically with impact by leveraging on its industry network with key C-suite decision-makers in the region.

As per a press note, the team is in a stage of deployment with an eye on eight to ten companies.

The-Wolfpack claims investments are made with portfolio synergy in mind to give companies opportunities to collaborate and cross-sell with others. Portfolio companies will also be invited to a quarterly session where they will have the opportunity for knowledge-sharing and gain insights from corporate partners and industry leaders. 

In parallel, the VC firm is looking to raise a second fund targeted at more than S$20 million (US$14.90 million).

Furthermore, the team is eyeing an expansion into Thailand and has been identifying opportunities to bring their portfolio into the market and invest in early-stage companies there. 

“Most VCs will tell you to focus on one thing and do that really well but we’ve built enough major consumer brands to know that’s not enough to succeed in complex markets across APAC,” said Toh Jin Wei, Co-founder and Managing Partner of The-Wolfpack. 

“Products and services need to deliver experiences, inspire community advocates and create media ecosystems. That’s why we’ve launched The-Wolfpack — to help startup founders close this critical gap,” he added.

Also Read: D2C: Is it time for the next phase of ecommerce in SEA?

“We’re in this for the long-haul with our founders and plan to grow The-Wolfpack to support their journey. Our portfolio companies will know that our Rolodex will never be closed to them,” said Simon Nichols, Co-founder and Managing Partner of The-Wolfpack.

“Tackling this region is no easy feat for D2C companies, which is why The-Wolfpack has so much value to bring. You need a 360 approach to win over individual markets here — this means having a sound rollout strategy that captures local nuances and access to the right media, events, digital and place-making partners is critical,” said Vit Suthithavil (Song), Managing Director of Panther Entertainment and The-Wolfpack’s Strategic Thailand Advisor.

“The-Wolfpack is the missing piece D2C startups need. Having worked closely with Jin Wei and Simon over the years, I’ve seen firsthand how their sharp on-the-ground insights and local connections with decision-makers can pivot companies to new heights,” said Glenn Sugita, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Northstar Advisors and Mentor to The-Wolfpack.

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Image Credit: The-Wolfpack

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Surge, Sequoia Capital India’s rapid scale-up programme for startups in Southeast Asia and India, has announced the names of the 17 early-stage startups selected for its 4th batch.

They span a wide range of sectors, including edutech, fintech, SME tech, devtools, consumer, healthtech and B2B marketplaces. 

Among them, four are from Southeast Asia.

Eleven of the 17 companies are building for cross-border markets, pushing beyond their geographical borders since their launch. Several are digitising and disrupting traditionally offline industries such as logistics, automotive and insurance.

Like Surge 03, Surge 04 will run entirely online till March 2021. 

As with previous cohorts, founders receive US$1-2 million from Surge early on to start hiring and building their product immediately to gain a competitive advantage.

The batch-4 startups have collectively raised US$45.35 million in funding from both Surge and other investors. 

Also Read: Meet the 8 Southeast Asian startups receiving US$1-2M each from Sequoia’s Surge programme

“This cohort is a reflection of how the region’s startup ecosystem will look and think for the next few years — possibly impacting entire economies. Businesses going beyond home markets, thinking digital-first and leveraging technology to solve problems at scale for industries around the world. It’s incredible to be a part of this growth story,” said Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Sequoia India.

Below is a snapshot of the four Southeast Asian startups:

Tazapay: A Singapore-based platform for cross-border commerce with a focus on SMBs.

Aampe: A Singaporean startup that produces an automated testing tool that allows messaging to be personalised for the individual customer, driving better retention.

Otoklix: An Indonesian digital platform serving the automotive aftermarket sector by providing online to offline solutions for car services.

Epsilo: A Singapore-headquartered SaaS company that helps e-commerce marketers and category managers deliver effective advertising operations across online retail platforms in the region.

Also Read: Due diligence meets imagination: How SGInnovate plans to further support the deep tech ecosystem

Applications for Surge 05 2021, which kicks off in May 2021 are now open.

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Image Credit: Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

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Kata.ai, a conversational Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing (NLP) startup, has secured an undisclosed amount in Series B funding, led by Taiwan-based Trans-Pacific Technology Fund (TPTF) and MDI Ventures.

Alongside this, Kata has also unveiled its new product QIOS, a social commerce platform that allows small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to use and integrate AI technology in their sales process through chat-based applications such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.

“We will allocate the Series B funding acquired to expand Kata.ai’s business and services to the commerce, healthcare and insurance technology industries,” said Irzan Raditya, Kata.ai’s CEO and Co-founder.

Also Read: Kata.ai raises US$3.5M in Series A funding round

“This year, our focus is to develop QIOS, which aims to help SMEs expand their sales network and improve the customer shopping experience. The QIOS app initiative was inspired by the condition of SMEs in Indonesia, especially with the current pandemic, where we notice up to 70 per cent decrease in sales for SMEs,” Irzan added.

“We hope that QIOS can help SME entrepreneurs develop their business with the help of AI and automation technology,” he continued.

Kata.ai develops AI technology in understanding human conversation to allow better interaction between humans and computers. Its NLP has been used to create chatbots for companies and other stakeholders in Indonesia, including Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo, Bank BRI, Pertamina, Blue Bird Group, OVO, Midtrans, Warung Pintar, Healthcare and Social Security Agency, Ministry of Education and Culture, and Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

As per a report, social commerce platforms are predicted to have a significant role in online commerce sales in Indonesia. McKinsey predicts that by 2022 the total Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of social commerce in Indonesia will reach 25 billion US dollars.

As QIOS is based on chatting apps such as WhatsApp, which has more than 125 million users in Indonesia, QIOS allows SME merchants to target large potential market shares with a new approach.

The QIOS platform is also currently connected to e-wallet and e-payment apps such as OVO, GoPay, LinkAja and DANA, as well as online courier platforms such as GoSend and GrabExpress to help the QIOS platform users in their business.

Also Read: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Is the technology only as good as the human behind it?

Kata Platform has processed more than 700 million conversations and three million monthly active users who interact with chatbots created by Kata Platform.

During the pandemic period, the number of conversations that took place also accelerated significantly, with growth reaching 3 times the number of normal conversations.

“We are grateful and proud of our achievements. Apart from obtaining Series B funding, Kata.ai has also recorded consistent growth in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) for three consecutive years, namely the 2018-2020 period,” noted Irzan.

In August 2017, Kata.ai had raised US$3.5 million in Series A funding round, led by TPTF.

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