Jake Goh (second from right), co-founder and CEO of RateS
RateS, a social commerce platform operating in Indonesia, announced today it has closed an undisclosed amount in Series A round, co-led by Vertex Ventures and Genesis Alternative Ventures.
The fresh capital will go towards bankrolling RateS’s expansion into tier 2 and 3 markets in Indonesia by expanding the “density” of its reseller membership network, which the company claims to have surpassed half a million.
Besides, the funds will be used to improve product catalogues as part of future product and platform development.
Launched in 2016, RateS enables small businesses and individuals to start their online business through social channels. By using technology to modernise sourcing, distribution and credit, RateS helps resellers solve inefficiencies faced by resellers.
RateS claims that it has since expanded to over 400 cities across Indonesia and has more than tripled its growth in 2020 alone, with the bulk of its revenue stemming from tier 2 and 3 cities within Indonesia.
“For us, the true measure of RateS’s success will be in how much we can improve our resellers’ livelihood and businesses. We have already seen our resellers’ incomes increasing by up to 50 per cent since joining our platform,” said Jake Goh, co-founder and CEO of RateS.
Also Read: A look at the future of social commerce
“Our collective vision is to revolutionise social commerce through technology, creating digital entrepreneurs and empowering them with tools to conduct their business seamlessly and more profitably,” he added.
Social commerce in Indonesia has witnessed strong growth. A McKinsey report forecast that social commerce is expected to grow into a US$25 billion dollar industry by 2022, driven by the growing number of merchant bases.
“As with many other models we have seen, e-commerce marketplaces in Southeast Asia have long evolved into a race-to-the-bottom with cash serving as the only standing moat,” said Chua Joo Hock, Managing Partner at Vertex Ventures.
“RateS, on the other hand, has unearthed an efficient acquisition playbook to access Tier 2 and 3 cities in Indonesia that is not only cost-effective and sustainable but more importantly has huge untapped market potential,” he added.
Last month, Indonesia-based micro-retail e-commerce platform Ula raised US$20 million in Series A round co-led by Quona Capital and B Capital Group to expand its services within Indonesia.
–
Image Credit: RateS
The post RateS snags Series A to expand social commerce platform to tier 2, 3 cities in Indonesia appeared first on e27.