Brodo co-founders Yukka Harlanda (L) and Putera Dwi Karunia
Sembrani Nusantara Fund (SNF), a new fund launched recently by Indonesian corporate VC firm BRI Ventures, has led an undisclosed Series A investment in Indonesian direct-to-consumer (D2C) shoe brand Brodo.
Local VC firm GDP Venture also joined the round and the size of the investment remains undisclosed.
As per a press statement, the fresh funds will be used to bankroll Brodo’s product innovation and strengthen its supply chain network to increase local market penetration.
This is SNF’s second investment since its launch in mid-2020 and marks BRI Ventures’s first step into the new retail space. SNF made its debut with a US$2 million investment in local made-to-order drink brand Haus! earlier this month.
Established in 2010, Brodo specialises in men’s fashion. It merges the online and offline shopping experience with three brick-and-mortar shops in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya.
Yukka Harlanda, CEO of Brodo, said: “With this funding, we will double down on our product innovation and strengthen our supply chain network to help deeper penetrate Indonesia’s market. We are also preparing for our second stage of growth in order to fulfil a specific mission of making Indonesian brands cool again. This will ignite the revolution of digital-first microbrands.”
Also Read: D2C: Is it time for the next phase of ecommerce in SEA?
“Brodo’s expertise in leveraging social media platforms and e-commerce marketplaces allows the brand to position itself as an affordable, yet high-quality and unique, alternative to the homogenous options presented by international labels,” SNF head Markus Liman Rahardja said.
The Brodo team has also developed Boleh Dicoba Digital (BDD), a digital marketing platform, which will soon be available for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the archipelago.
“Brodo’s strong understanding of how best to utilise branding and a strong desire to support micro, small, and medium enterprises expands the possibilities we can explore down the road,” said Nicko Widjaja, CEO of BRI Ventures.
“BDD has been powering local brands. I believe this platform will onboard more small and big brands alike. I hope we’re witnessing the birth of a cloud marketing platform, similar to what AWS as a cloud computing and API platform is to Amazon,” he opined.
Launched in June 2020, the SNF aims to build a pipeline for Indonesian startups to grow and find good exits. The fund looks beyond typical investment areas such as fintech and focuses on MSMEs while aligning their investment thesis around the areas of education, agro-maritime, retail, transportation and healthcare.
“The investment into Brodo fits with our localised retail focus while the brand’s digital marketing chops play into the fund’s goal to discover and build up fellow MSMEs,” Rahardja added.
—
Image Credit: Brodo
The post Sembrani Nusantara Fund leads Series A round for Indonesia’s D2C shoe brand Brodo appeared first on e27.