Indonesian group buying platform Radius scores seed funding, rebrands as Bakool

Radius, a group buying platform for fresh produce in Indonesia, has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding and rebranded to Bakool.

The capital was provided by Kleiner Perkins, Goodwater, Insignia Ventures, Global Brain, former Minister of Indonesia Mari Elka Pangestu, and others.

Customer data shows greater demand for fresh produce products than their focus on dry goods in Indonesia. This data aligns with the US$80-billion addressable market for food commodities in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Ivan Darmawan and Stephanie Wongsoredjo founded Bakool in response to the needs of households in these cities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Y-Combinator-backed Bakool helps increase household productivity by becoming the fresh produce chain for households in tier-2, tier-3, and rural cities. It operates without physical stores but instead has an agent network. The platform helps lower the costs of fresh produce, save more time for households on going to markets, and increase incomes for their agents.

The startup targets cities with GDP/capita lower than US$7500. These cities primarily access fresh produce through offline, traditional wet markets. They also have a 50 per cent lower income but pay similar prices for fresh produce compared to Jakarta.

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“Our agents have made three times their previous income, and we are expanding fast. In the long-term, we want to become the Whole Foods for rural Indonesia without having offline stores,” said Darmawan.

“Bakool is tapping into the massive underserved opportunity around fresh produce accessibility for tier-2, tier-3 and rural cities in Indonesia, which already amounts to a significant business, even capturing a portion of the market,” said Yinglan Tan, Founding Managing Partner at Insignia Ventures.

“Bakool’s mission of increasing household productivity is a much-needed focus for technology businesses in the country. This mission will bring long-term returns to the national economy and has potential repercussions for future generations in having a better quality of life,” said Elka Pangestu.

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