Ant’s IPO fiasco set to clip its wings and dent its value; The last-minute ambush by China’s regulators was seen by analysts and investors as an attempt to cut Ant founder Jack Ma and his financial services empire down to size but they expected it to eventually list as planned; Ma’s public criticism last month of financial regulations as stifling innovation had put him on a collision course with regulators. Reuters

Despite pandemic, Indonesian startups raised US$1.9B over 52 rounds by Q3 2020; As per a Amvesindo report, fintech, edutech, SaaS dominated the funding rounds; It predicts social commerce, foodtech, and any verticals that are related to digitalisation of supply chain and SMEs will continue to experience growth. e27

How two-year-old GudangAda managed to keep VCs interest ‘intact’ despite COVID-19; The firm raised two big funding rounds in quick succession in Feb and March 2020; Since its launch in early 2019, GudangAda’s transaction volume had more than doubled every single month, until hitting US$1B GMV in the first 12 months. e27

Is SEA the world’s next HR-tech hub?; Having a reliable HR ‘tech stack’ doesn’t just improve workers’ efficiency, collaboration and engagement – it can also help transform workplace culture in the process; HR tech can also level the playing field for employees who are historically underrepresented, from the candidate selection to the promotion process. HRD

Accelerating Asia plans to launch a new ‘up to US$50M fund’ in Q1 2021; It already runs an MAS-licensed fund, from which it plans to invest up to US$7.3M in the first four to five cohorts; The accelerator-cum-VC fund is also expanding into India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. e27

Microsoft (MS) makes strategic investment in Indonesia’s Bukalapak; Bukalapak is raising US$100M, in which Microsoft will co-invest, along with existing backers GIC and Emtek Group, for a valuation between US$2.5B and US$3B; The e-commerce firm will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform. e27

Indonesian B2B logistics-tech startup Logisly nets US$6M Series A led by Monk’s Hill; It connects shippers with trucking companies from a network of verified corporate carriers; Since 2019, Logisly has partnered with more than 1K businesses, including 300+ corporate shippers and has 40K+ trucks in its network. e27

Beamstart launching US$10M early-stage fund in SEA; The fund will invest in tech startups mainly at the pre-seed/accelerator to late-seed stages and will cut a cheque of up to US$100K per company; According to founder, with the rise of China, COVID-19’s after-effects, the emergence of 5G, rising ‘individualism’ among Gen-Z, and the exponential growth of mobile-internet usage offer huge opportunity in SEA. e27

Pre-seed VC firm Hustle Fund secures US$30.4M commitments for Fund II; The US$50M fund, based in Singapore and the US, has secured commitments from 78 investors, including Chinese online giant Shanda; Hustle Fund invests US$25K in pre-seed startups; Fund I has invested in 80 startups. DealStreetAsia

Singapore crypto wallet operator Math Global secures US$7.8M Series A+; Investors include Alameda Research (lead) and Multicoin Capital; MathWallet enables storage and cross-chain exchanges of over 50 major public blockchain tokens such as BTC, ETH, Polkadot; In the past, it has raised a significant amount of investments from from Fenbushi Capital, Fundamental Labs, etc. DealStreetAsia

Monde Nissin CEO, Temasek invest Bits x Bites China foodtech fund worth US$70M; The fund has hit the first close at US$30M; Bits x Bites aims to back early-stage Chinese and international entrepreneurs that are focused on the Chinese market and coming up with solutions for the Chinese food supply chain. GreenQueen

B2B marketplaces will be the next billion-dollar e-commerce startups; For many entrepreneurs running B2B marketplaces, the pandemic created new demand for their platforms; They are discovering creative new ways to monetize their networks, ensuring their approach is tailored to the complex and nuanced world of B2B e-commerce. TechCrunch

Indonesian omni-channel sales SaaS platform iSeller secures Series A from Mandiri, Openspace; The company claims its revenue and active merchant pool doubled, driven by an increased volume of online transactions during COVID-19; It currently processes 5M+ transactions a month. e27

iMedia Group acquires 90% of Malay language portal BeautifulNara; With BeautifulNara joining OhMedia, Ittify and Goody25 in the group, the combined network will have a reach of over 13M Malaysians; BeautifulNara will focus on the overall expansion of iMedia’s websites, covering trending daily news and Kimchi Daily, featuring all things KPOP. e27

Business management platform for SMEs Osome raises US$3M from XA Network, AltaIR Capital; The Singapore startup uses AI and ML techniques combined with the experience of human experts to solve problems in the fragmented accounting and corporate services industry; Osome’s product is used by 4100+ firms across UK, Singapore, HK. e27

SociaBuzz raises funding from UMG IdeaLab to connect businesses in Indonesia with creators, talents; It runs five platforms — Gigs, Shoutout, Tribe, Shop and Affiliate; The platforms together have around 72K influencers/creators/talents and 1,350 active users. e27

GGV Capital investor Hans Tung shares his definition of a fundable startup; People with bad personality are still very young but they still get the right thing; But it’s still hard because bad personalities in entrepreneurship are not easy to get along with, they’re tough to handle and they obviously have their own faults. e27

Malaysian edutech AOne secures US$500K led by Wavemaker; AOne brings together a B2C marketplace and B2B backend management software for all kinds of local enrichment lessons across SEA; It currently serves 800+ enrichment centres, managing 50K+ lessons, 100K+ learners and educators across multiple cities. e27

How to tackle fraud and counter-party risk in an increasingly compromised world of finance; AI is showing great promise in identity verification; There are business opportunities in using advanced technology, complying with KYC and AML regulations is proven to give companies a competitive advantage. e27

‘What I learned from funding my second startup… with a credit card’; You need to consider interest rates from the practical, logistical side; A small business administration loan, for example, usually is only 5.5- 8%; So using a credit card is an expensive route that’s going to take you much longer to pay back; The longer you’ve got money tied up in debt, the longer it will be before you can channel money into real growth and innovation. The Next Web

Here’s how AI is helping cities improve traffic management; Today’s cars are generally equipped with features such as park assist, cruise control, adaptive front lights and lane keeping assist; These devices support drivers in terms of providing aid, warning and assistance, rather than replacing them in driving activities. The Next Web

Fintech sector to create more jobs in Singapore; The emergence of digital banks in Singapore will open doors for several opportunities for jobs and collaborations; But finance professionals must reskill or upskill their digital capabilities in areas such as data analytics; The demand for jobs in areas like UX/UI design and cloud applications may also increase. hrmasia

Visa partners with Nexttech to promote digital payments adoption in Vietnam; This is aimed at expanding the network of sellers and buyers on social commerce platforms; Along with the rise of e-commerce, consumers have also been adopting digital payment methods more; The value of mobile and online transactions in Vietnam has increased by 238%. TechInAsia

Vietnam shows significant progress among APAC digital societies, says GSMA Intelligence report; Its digital society index went from 37 in 2016 to 49 in 2020, a 12-point difference; The result placed Vietnam in 8th spot among the 11 surveyed countries, putting it in the group of “transitioning” nations, besides Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and India. VN Express

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It is hard to believe that four years had passed since the last US presidential elections.

While politics have never been our focus at e27, we always believe that the tech industry does not stand in a silo. Thus any major global events will affect the industry –no matter how far-fetched it seems.

When President Donald Trump won the election in 2016, his America-first policies have made Silicon Valley anxious. As elaborated in this post by Daniel Fries, the immigration crackdown that the Trump administrative championed had potentially made it harder for global tech talents to obtain travel and work visa to the US. Even the Indian tech leaders had to meet Trump officials to discuss the changes in the H1-B visa requirements.

The move turned out to be just the beginning as we later witnessed how the US government aims to tackle down major Chinese tech giants with their data security issue.

Four years passed and despite the initial shock, the global tech startup ecosystem continues to thrive. Startup hubs around the world continues to thrive, with a great number of them being in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, providing alternatives for both talents and investors to focus their attention in.

But for the Southeast Asian tech startup ecosystem, there are other opportunities to shine in: The US-China trade war.

Also Read: Koh Boon Hwee-backed US$100M+ VC fund Altara Ventures to invest in 20-25 firms in SEA

The eagle, the dragon, and the tiger

Within the past five years, the Southeast Asian (SEA) tech startup ecosystem continues to become a favourite of global investors, from both the US and the APAC region. Even leading names in the Silicon Valley ecosystem such as Tim Draper and Peter Thiel are making great moves in SEA.

But the excitement peaks with the rise of the US-China trade war. In Jumpstart, Sharon Lewis wrote how ASEAN countries are “reaping the benefits” of the rising tariffs that the US has been imposing on China.

“For instance, Vietnam has benefited considerably, with 46 per cent of US imports worth US$31 billion shifting out of China and into Vietnam this year, subsequently adding an additional US$14 billion in exports to the US … Big tech companies are also looking to move their China bases, looking to Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand as alternatives. Naturally, the Trump administration is fully supportive of this,” she elaborates.

This update opens up opportunities for startups particularly those in the logistics and supply chain sector.

In a recent interview with e27, Marc Dragon, Managing Director of Reefknot Investments, reveals how the US-China trade war has led industry players to consider how their businesses are being run. He divides it into the “three buckets” of impact: Digitalisation and visibility of supply chain, sourcing strategy (including the supply chain sourcing design) as well as cash flow management, resilience, and financial stability of the supply chain.

When there is an opportunity, there are investments flooding in. And the numbers are not playing around. For example, even during the pandemic, Indonesian startups raised US$1.9 billion in funding by Q3 2020, according to the Indonesian venture capital association Amvesindo. A similar situation happened throughout the region; the pandemic might cause a glitch in the matrix, but it is only temporary.

Also Read: A closer look at Zendesk: fostering better customer relationships for startups everywhere

So how does this translate to the US election result?

Whether this situation will continue or not depends on who the next president his and his approach in handling the matter. Interestingly, even if candidate Joe Biden wins the election and becomes president of the US, there is no guarantee of a significant change, given that his take on the matter remains “uncertain”, according to experts.

Biden has been quoted stating that he will “get tough on China” as per this CNBC report while criticising the measures that Trump administration has taken.

Regardless of election results, in the past years, the SEA startup ecosystem has proven its ability to grow from strength to strength. From financial crises to a global outbreak, even when the situation gets tough, our entrepreneurs have shown its capacity to rise above it.

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Image Credit: Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash

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Temasek, others invest US$30M into Bits x Bites China food-tech fund

The story: China’s VC firm Bits x Bites has raised US$30 million in the first close of its US$70 million foodtech fund, according to Greenqueen.

Investors: Temasek, Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto, and other unnamed conglomerates and family offices.

More about this story: Bits x Bites aims to back early-stage Chinese and global founders who are coming up with solutions to improve the the country’s food supply chain. These include precision agriculture, crop and animal health, alternative proteins and nutrition.

Also Read: Afternoon News Roundup: Temasek, others invest US$500M in American plant-based meat company Impossible Foods

“With African Swine Flu, COVID-19, and uncertain trade relations, nothing else is more urgent in China today than growing the self-sufficiency and sustainability in food production,” Matilda Ho, Founder of Bits X Bites.

fREADom raises US$2.5M for its full-stack English learning platform

The story: Edutech app fREADom, owned by Indian startup Stones2Milestones, has raised US$2.5 million in a pre-series A round of funding, according to a press statement.

Investors: Unreasonable Capital, Goldhirsh Foundation, undisclosed angel investors, FaaD Network and Lets Venture.

More about the story: fREADom currently has 200,000 users on its platform and expects its annualised revenues to cross US$7.5 million by March 2021.

“We are now scaling our solution fast to reach 10 million within the next 12-18 months. With a product that’s working for 200,000 plus users, a profitable business model and a mission-aligned passionate leadership team, this round of capital are well-timed for fueling growth,” said Kavish Gadia, co-founder and CEO, Stones2Milestones.

Halodoc launches veterinary services on its platform

The story: Halodoc, a health-tech platform based in Indonesia, has announced the launch of veterinary services on its platform.

More about the story: The telemedicine platform will now be able to help pet owners get medical consultation via messenger chat, even though pet owners may still need to proceed with offline consultation as a follow-up.

Also Read: How HaloDoc aims to open greater access to healthcare for all Indonesians

About Halodoc: Founded in 2016, Halodoc enables patients to communicate directly on smartphones and desktops to 20,000 licensed doctors in the country, whenever and wherever.

In addition to that, the platform also serves as an at-home checkup-booking platform and medicine delivery vehicle through its application that’s connected to 1,300 pharmacies.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

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Osome CEO Victor Lysenko (L) and COO Konstantin Lange

Osome, a Singapore-based startup providing an accounting and corporate compliance app for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has raised US$3 million in a new funding round from XA Network and European VC firm AltaIR Capital.

As per a press statement, Osome will use the funds for product development and marketing efforts across its Singapore, Hong Kong and UK markets.

This follows an initial US$2 million funding round led by Target Global in 2018.

Also Read: Fintech startup Osome snags US$3M funding led by Target Global, preparing Hong Kong’s, UK’s expansion

Osome leverages Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques, combined with the experience of human experts, to solve the problem of time-consuming administrative tasks, such as payroll and secretarial work. This way, it aims to disrupt the fragmented accounting and corporate services industry.

“We want to make it simple for our clients to go digital and acclimatise themselves to the current economy,” said Victor Lysenko, Founder and CEO of Osome.

The startup claims more than 4,100 companies are using its product daily with an annual growth rate of over 200 per cent.

“Osome taps into a large and fragmented market opportunity and plays in an industry which is ripe for disruption. The company’s business model drives a step-change in both efficiency and customer satisfaction through automation, leading to a high potential for growth and profitability,” said Gilberto Gaeta, a member of XA Network.

“We decided to invest in Osome as we have trust in the business model and see the team’s ability to scale it. The service is vital for many new enterprises and has huge growth potential,” said Igor Ryabenkiy, Managing Partner of AltaIR Capital.

Also Read: What any founder needs to know about the art of accounting

The recent economic crisis and global lockdown caused by COVID-19 has pushed SMEs to accelerate the adoption of digital solutions. Osome says it has been at the forefront of this movement and is participating in Singapore’s Start Digital initiative, where grants are distributed to SMEs for the adoption of digital solutions to reduce administrative workload.

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Image Credit: Osome

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The Hustle Fund team

Hustle Fund, a US- and Singapore-based pre-seed VC investor, has hit the first close of its second fund at US$30 million, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Also Read: Hustle Fund closes US$11.5M fund from Shanda, Naver, LINE, plans to shift focus to SEA

The new fund, which started fundraising in May 2019, intends to make the final close at US$50 million.

As per a DealStreetAsia report, Chinese online gaming giant Shanda is returning as a Limited Partner for fund II

Hustle Fund was started by Elizabeth Yin and Eric Bahn (former Partners at 500 Startups), and Shiyan Koh. The VC firm focuses on investing in pre-seed software startups in Southeast Asia, the US and Canada.

On average, Hustle Fund cuts a cheque of US$25,000 per startup in startups with a minimum viable product (MVP). After investment, the fund works closely with the team to assist in growing their business.

Hustle Fund makes nearly 50 investments annually, mostly in the B2B, fintech and consumer digital health sectors. Its investees include Vietnamese electric motorbike startup Datbike, Singapore-based logistics firm Moovaz, and Malaysian telehealth startup Ora Group.

Also Read: Hustle Fund has invested in Singapore-based moving logistics startup Moovaz

Sticking by its proven method of investing small amounts in pre-seed startups, Yin believes learning well is more important than money for executing a good idea. This is especially so in the pre-seed stage, where there is a limit to the return money and resources have on the execution.

Last week, Singapore-based Beamstart announced that it would launch a US$10 million digital accelerator fund for Southeast Asia, which will focus on investing in technology startups in their earliest stages.

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Image Credit: Hustle Fund

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COVID-19 has hit the fossil fuel industry hard. Throughout the pandemic, renewables seemed to offer a better dependable alternative to fossil fuels. Minimum disruption to the supply of renewables was due to the ease of set-up and remote operations.

However, in the case of fossil energy, disruption was more evident as it requires direct human management. With the benefits of renewable energy increasingly evident, a post-pandemic transition to a greener economy is gaining a lot of popularity among the government, corporates, and the public.

Bringing renewable energy to the forefront has both short-term and long-term benefits. The short-term benefits would lead to economic activation and job creation and, the long-term benefits would result in a more sustainable and environment-friendly fuel with lower/zero carbon footprint.

This is why the government in both developed and emerging economies are considering investing in green/renewable energy to stir the economy in post-pandemic stimulus measures.

Also, the public sentiment is now more supportive of transitioning to cleaner energy options to meet sustainability goals. Recent polling data indicates that voters across emerging and developed economies are broadly supportive of a green economic recovery from COVID-19.

Transition to a green economy will require incentivising the domestic markets to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy projects. Therefore, emerging economies would need to go beyond their prior commitment to investing in green energy.

Also Read: In Brief: Impact Partners supports US$1.1M funding round in solar energy marketplace SOLshare, CARRO opens used car automall

These economies would need to look into both structural and financial set-up to come with innovative ideas that can smoothen the pivoting of new green initiatives.

This article discusses these micro and macro ways of providing impetus to green/renewable projects through financial and structural solutions.

Government-led funding or stimulus package

The current pandemic resulted in significant foreign investment outflows and a reduction in exports.  The repercussions might be profound for the emerging economies.

In such a situation, emerging economies that are considering green investment as the next growth opportunity have a problem to solve in terms of procuring the necessary funds.

The government in emerging economies need to work on two fronts. One, they should explore more ways to gain domestic support from private firms and financial institutions and enable self-reliance.

Second, build green initiatives robustly into the economies by making it a part of the upcoming stimulus package aimed at reviving economic activities.

These stimulus packages should be well designed for long-term growth. They should aim at providing a boost to domestic entrepreneurship and funding as well as create new jobs. A part of this package should be allocated to the local community development, job creation for the workforce in the community, and promotion of gender equality through equal employment opportunities.

The key objective of these packages should be to develop new skills in the population; to prosper local communities, and to make the environment healthy with zero carbon footprint.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Transcelestial raises US$9.6M; dltledgers in talks for US$9M Series A; MDEC’s new grants programme to support SMEs making the digital leap

Promoting healthy competition for grants at colleges and universities

In emerging economies, educational institutes and universities are not thoroughly supported and utilised for research work. More than often, a lot of innovative ideas from research students do not take off due to a lack of funding.

It results in the foregone opportunity to tap into business and scientific ideas that could be utilised to create cheap green energy sources and run projects to meet energy requirements at the local level.

The process of driving innovation at education institutions could be facilitated with a call out to participate in grants. For an idea that is scalable to large geographies, private companies can also be invited to participate in the grant process.

The involvement of private companies/firms can help to accelerate the development and utilisation of energy solutions on a large scale. This process of funding and developing think tanks at the education institutes can provide impetus to making the next workforce equipped with new skills and hence job-ready.

Standardising of processes to accelerate renewal energy projects uptake

The process of accelerating green energy initiatives will require efficiency and transparency from emerging countries. For expediting the procurement of funds from both domestic and international investors, policies and processes should enable ease of business, reduce bottlenecks at the state/local community level, provide equitable tax benefits, and decrease time to get the project off the shelf.

Development of a packaged solution (consisting of protocols, tools, templates, etc.) at the national level and cascading it to the local government will result in streamlining and standardisation of the processes.

It will also help avoid several rounds in the tendering process, reduce project time and cost, and provide greater confidence to investors. For this task, a special committee can be appointed by the Central government. This committee can also collaborate with International bodies to learn about successful endeavours in other countries.

Also Read: 13 cleantech startups to watch in Asia

A practice on similar lines is employed by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group in African countries. It provides a one-stop-shop program that includes advice to government, competitive financing, and tools for risk management and credit enhancement, etc. This program is unique because it de-risks the projects that deliver lower tariffs, streamlines processes, and achieves economies of scale.

Opening phases in the green energy project to different investors

Creating customised committees to finance various stages of a project life cycle is a way to meet the risk appetite of the various investors. This is one of the unique financing practices followed by Climate Investor One ( CIO), a finance facility , which separates funds for each phase.

This way it is able to attract investors who are interested in different phases of project life cycle, thus decreasing the overall financial risk associated with the project.

Innovative financing solutions

Blockchain is an innovative new platform that can be explored to connect renewable energy development projects with investors and energy consumers. WePower, an Ethereum based blockchain platform, is one such example.

The tech platform enables early purchase and sale of energy production to energy consumers and investors on development projects. It connects renewable energy producers with potential buyers, thus helping in accumulating funds for developing renewable/green initiatives.

Another example is Power Ledger (Australia based), a platform that enables households and companies owning renewable energy to trade electricity with local communities at reasonable prices.

While blockchains make the process of procuring finance simple at a micro level but the scalability at a large-scale needs testing. However, such efforts at the local community level could help meet local needs and reduce carbon footprints.

The current crisis has given us enough reasons to reinvent ourselves. Modernising energy through renewable and greener solution is a smarter way to transition away from outdated systems with a high carbon footprint.

With the transition accurately timed, the economic recovery has the potential to generate new jobs and take us closer to the goal of a more environmentally and financially sustainable future.

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Attribution data and in-app analytics are key to understanding user behaviour and ensuring growth. When it comes to app installs, competition is fierce, and today’s consumers have a combined total of close to five million apps to choose from in the Google Play and Apple app store.

That’s why it’s essential to work with an attribution platform where you can measure every channel to find out where your users come from, discover which channels perform best, and which campaign creatives convert.

From there, you can move to spend from underperforming campaigns and creatives to those that are driving results.

Leveraging apps trends for growth

When it comes to attracting more users, we always recommend using the data you have from your existing users to segment and target, so you can deliver the right message to the right people at the right time.

If you do that, you’ll be spending less and getting more users, and they will be far more likely to commit to using your app long term and converting to paying customers.

Churn is an unavoidable part of having an app, but understanding when and why users uninstall can give you new insights into the consumer lifecycle. If many users churn during the on boarding process, for example, you might need to re-evaluate your sign-up process.

Likewise, if the majority of your users churn at the 14-day mark, start thinking about how to keep your users engaged just before they would usually drop off.

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Microsoft Indonesia President Director Haris Izmee (L) with Bukalapak CEO Rachmat Kaimuddin

Microsoft has formed a strategic partnership with Indonesia’s leading e-commerce platform Bukalapak.

As part of the agreement, the e-commerce firm will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform, while Microsoft will make a strategic investment in Bukalapak.

As per a Bloomberg report, Bukalapak is raising a US$100 million funding round, in which Microsoft will co-invest, along with existing backers GIC and Emtek Group, for a valuation between US$2.5 billion and US$3 billion.

Also Read: This is how we scaled up the Bukalapak engineering team

As per a press statement, the partnership will leverage Microsoft’s expertise in building a resilient cloud infrastructure to support Bukalapak services for more than 12 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 100 million customers.

“This partnership signals a deep collaboration with Microsoft on an array of technology projects that will transform the technology-driven commerce solutions and operations solution and operations in Indonesia,” said Rachmat Kaimuddin, CEO of Bukalapak.

“As a global technology leader, Microsoft’s confidence with Bukalapak highlights our position as the leading homegrown technology player in Indonesia and our continued objective to create a positive impact on our country and customers,” he added.

Additionally, the two companies plan to collaborate on providing digital skills training for Bukalapak employees and merchants. This is part of their ambition to bridge the digital gaps present within the archipelago.

“Bukalapak and their services have had a real and enduring impact on Indonesian society, and their innovation mindset in a rapidly changing market will create new opportunities for merchants, businesses and consumers,” said Haris Izmee, President Director of Microsoft Indonesia.

Also Read: Bukalapak launches new fintech unit Buka Investasi Bersama

Bukalapak was founded in 2010 with the mission of empowering Indonesia through digital technology. In addition to e-commerce, the unicorn also offers financial services and payment options for its users.

Beyond e-commerce, Bukalapak aims to transform the economy through digitalising traditional warungs (mom and pop kiosks) to enable businesses across the archipelago to gain access to an online economy.

In December last year, Shinhan GIB, the investment banking unit of South Korean financial group Shinhan Financial Group, announced participation in Bukalapak’s Series F round.

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Image Credit: Bukalapak

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GudangAda CEO Stevensang

Even as COVID-19 threw the normal life out of gear and felled businesses around the world, two-year-old Indonesian startup GudangAda achieved a rare feat.

This online B2B marketplace for FMCG products not only posted an envious growth, thanks mainly to a steep rise in e-commerce activities, but also successfully secured two rounds of investments, that too in quick succession.

Within just a month of raising a seed funding round led by Alpha JWC and Wavemaker Partners in February, it filled its coffers with a massive US$25.4 million Series A led by Sequoia India and Alpha JWC — taking its total raise to over US$35 million.

The Jakarta-headquartered startup, led by Founder and CEO Stevensang, is currently in talks for US$75 million Series B round.

In this interview, Stevensang talks about his startup journey, the company’s goals and future plans, as well as the online B2B industry for FMCG products in the archipelago.

Also Read: Are B2B marketplaces finally entering their boom time in Asia?

Edited excerpts:

Started in 2018, GudangAda achieved a rare feat of securing two round of funding in quick succession. How did you manage to maintain the investor interest intact? What is your magic formula?

Luckily, we’ve been receiving a good number of inbound investor interests and our early investors were also very helpful in making introductions.

I think our magic formula is our rate of business growth itself. Since launching in early 2019, in our early days, our transaction volume had more than doubled every single month, until hitting US$1 billion GMV in the first 12 months.

Since then, we have managed to double many of our operational metrics every quarter this year despite COVID-19.

You worked with Orang Tua Group for 25+ years before starting GudangAda. Do you think your entry into the startup scene should have happened much earlier?

It depends on how you want to see it. I personally think that I joined the startup scene at the right time; my 25 years of experience gave me unique perspectives into the industry pain-points with strategic insights to solve them.

In this industry, having a good relationship and building trust with wholesalers and retailers are key to success.

My experience combined with GudangAda’s proven business model have created successful relationships and trust. This has been the strong foundation of our sustainable growth to date.

Also Read: How emerging markets can become green economies

So, yes, my past experience was important for our initial launch but it was really GudangAda’s proven business model that enabled our business to scale up fast until on-boarding more than 50,000 key wholesalers and 200,000 total merchants today.

What was the motivation to start GudangAda? What were the gaps you found in the offline FMCG industry that you thought should be plugged using tech?

It all started with a concern about the future of traditional traders in the midst of digital era. Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world and this causes inefficiency in the supply chain, bringing logistics cost up to 24 per cent of the country’s GDP, one of the highest in the world.

The FMCG supply chain from manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers are facing a high operating cost and a low productivity due to inefficient operational structure and shortage of qualified salesmen.

Wholesalers as the key player in the industry mostly run their business in a passive approach, which shrinks their business and they are not able to expand their customer base and categories.

Retailers are also facing challenges to discover the right products at the right time and right price.

GudangAda empowers all FMCG players by providing a marketplace platform that helps them to transact in a faster, cheaper, smarter and bigger way.

GudangAda has already found a place in the startup scene in Indonesia, given the pace of growth. Do you think it has the potential to be the next Unicorn?

We are working hard and very excited to fulfil our mission to empower the supply chain players and traditional traders in Indonesia.

Being a unicorn means committing to rapid growth, building the right product, securing the right investment, and creating a space to scale. Judging by our current momentum, I am optimistic we will get there in the near future.

You are a deep-pocketed player (having raised over US$35 million in just under a year). Why do you need this much money and why do you need to keep raising money by diluting more equity?

As we follow an asset-light model with high capital efficiency and very manageable expenses, we have a multi-year cash runway today and are reaching profitability soon next year.

We generate diverse revenue streams today from marketplace commissions to various service fees, including principal distribution, logistics and more.

Our targets for the short- and mid-term are to continue scaling current operations, solidify GudangAda logistics services, launch new business initiatives (for example, various partnerships across our supply chain and ecosystem), tech capabilities (we will be renewing our app) and enhancing product features.

We will also use the funds for recruitment as we are expanding our team to help with the strategy and operations.

What is the size of the total addressable market in Indonesia? How much market share do you have?

It is a US$100-billion industry for FMCG and staple foods in Indonesia.

We can’t disclose our market share. However, we have close to 300,000 merchants with ~100 per cent of FMCG key wholesalers.

How intense is your competition with the likes of Tokopedia and Bukalapak? How did you manage to find a place among them?

We do have some advantages in this competition because we have built a long-term relationship and trust with key wholesalers. We also apply a neutral third-party model to empower them instead of replacing them.

Also Read: Understanding the culture of relationship-building in Asia

Our close relationships are shown in recent activities where we worked closely with traditional traders to provide them with 200,000 masks so they can work safely.

We have been also actively giving the market insights and predictions regularly, so they can overcome the challenges caused by COVID-19.

Additionally, the FMCG and staples industry is huge enough and relatively untouched by technology.

So, with more players coming in, it will increase awareness and accelerate the tech adoption and help the traditional traders transform their business faster.

Did you face any challenges from the offline industry at the beginning of your firm? How did you manage to convince customers about the benefits of partnering with you?

Our core philosophy is not to disrupt the industry but to empower every player in the market.

I would say that the biggest challenge we face is technology adoption — most of the traditional traders are not tech-savvy. This means we need to use personal approach to educate them about the benefits of going digital. This is where strong relationships and trust are highly needed.

We have a strong team (over 600 sales people) in the field who consistently educate our members and potential members about GudangAda benefits. We have a regular training for all our members so they can optimise our service at their maximum advantage.

We assure them that we are not disrupting their supply chain but instead focus on digitalising the process for maximum growth and efficiency. With this approach, we aim to digitalise 100 per cent of the industry in the next three to five years.

As for the benefits, we enable faster transactions, offer competitive prices, smart analytical insights, more product selections and business partners to transact with (close to 300,000 members in more than 500 cities).

We also build a data-driven marketing and sales approach to help their business grow effectively. We empower the sourcing and the sellers all together.

There are 60 million MSMEs in Indonesia. How do you plan to exploit this fast-growing industry which employs about 95 per cent of the employment?

Our vision is to build a solid B2B e-commerce infrastructure in Indonesia so that traditional traders and the whole supply chain players can grow their business effectively, which eventually will grow the economy as a whole.

GudangAda is the solution for these MSMEs as we provide the full ecosystem services — from sourcing, selling, buying, logistics, to payment.

While raising Series A, Gudangada said it plans to use the capital to also launch new services. What are these new services? Do you intend to venture out to new areas?

After the series A funding, we have expanded to reach more retailers and brand owners. We have also launched GudangAda logistics services to help our members become more efficient with their delivery operational costs

As for category expansion, we are now working to expand from FMCG, staple to other categories such as house-ware, consumer electronics, office stationery, etc.

I learn you are in talks for Series B funding. How much do you plan to raise and from which investors? Do you expect your current backers to return to invest?

We are targeting a next round of US$75 million or more, as a solid next step for extending our ecosystem build-up to empower Indonesia’s B2B e-commerce with omni-channel services for the entire supply chain.

Also Read: What does it take to raise Series B funding? Learn from Gilmour Space and Bambu

We will officially launch it in the coming months. Having said that, we welcome any interested partners who would like to start knowing us early.

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Image Credit: GudangAda

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iSeller Founder Jimmy Petrus (centre)

iSeller, an Indonesian omni-channel sales SaaS platform, has secured an undisclosed sum in Series A round of financing, co-led by Mandiri Capital, the VC arm of Bank Mandiri in Indonesia, and Openspace Ventures, a leading VC firm in Southeast Asia.

The funds will be used for business expansion, including acceleration of merchant acquisition and on-boarding, as per a press statement.

Also Read: Sleekr, iSeller join forces to automate financial recording process for SMEs

iSeller is also doubling down on technology development to add additional omni-channel merchant solutions and features.

Established in 2017 by Jimmy Petrus, iSeller offers a cloud-based platform for omni-channel businesses by integrating in-store point of sale, online storefront, payment processing, order fulfilment and inventory management within a single interface.

Through its offerings, the startup aims to empower small and medium business owners with “an end-to-end digital ecosystem that allows them to manage and scale their businesses easier, faster and smarter”.

The company claims that it has doubled its revenue and active merchant pool, driven by an increased volume of online transactions during the COVID-19 period. It currently processes more than 5 million transactions a month.

“Since the COVID-19 lockdown in March, we have seen a rapid increase in demand, particularly for our online solutions such as retail online stores, F&B online ordering and e-menus,” said Kevin Ventura, iSeller’s Chief Commercial Officer.

Ventura remarked that the pandemic has increased awareness among retail and F&B businesses on the importance of having suitable technologies to sustain and grow their businesses.

Shane Chesson, Founding Partner at Openspace Ventures, said: “The omni-channel sales software opportunity in Indonesia and the region is ripe for growth. COVID-19 has irreversibly accelerated the adoption of digital payments and the importance of smooth online integrations to multiple partners.”

Mandiri Capital’s investment begins a long-term strategic collaboration between Mandiri Bank and iSeller to create a comprehensive digital business ecosystem. The collaboration would further benefit Mandiri’s 200,000 MSMEs and large enterprises in Indonesia. 

“The robustness of iSeller’s omni-channel platform aligns perfectly with the vision, strategy and digital innovation of Mandiri in the near future. We trust that strategic collaboration with our merchant ecosystem and Mandiri business groups will help iSeller to achieve massive growth, paving the way to profitability,” said Eddi Danusaputro, CEO of Mandiri Capital.

iSeller would leverage on integrations with Mandiri’s products and services to provide merchants with a smooth and seamless transaction experience.

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Image Credit: iSeller

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