PermataBank Hadirkan Layanan “Trade Finance” dengan Teknologi Blockchain

PT Bank Permata Tbk (PermataBank) resmi menghadirkan layanan pembiayaan perdagangan atau trade finance dengan teknologi blockchain. Menurut klaimnya, PermataBank menjadi bank pertama yang melayani transaksi trade finance dengan teknologi blockchain di Indonesia.

Untuk menghadirkan blockchain, PermataBank bekerja sama dengan Contour Network yang merupakan perusahaan penyedia jaringan teknologi untuk trade finance di global. Di Asia Tenggara, sejumlah bank yang menggunakan teknologi Contour antara lain HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, dan Bangkok Bank.

Trade finance merupakan fasilitas pembiayaan untuk transaksi perdagangan domestik maupun internasional. Pemanfaatan blockchain memungkinkan transaksi data dilakukan secara terdesentralisasi secara real-time dengan konsep distributed ledger.

Direktur Wholesale Banking PermataBank Darwin Wibowo mengatakan, adopsi blockchain merupakan langkah PermataBank untuk menjawab kebutuhan nasabah melalui digitalisasi berbagai layanannya dan menavigasi sistem pembayaran nasional dengan teknologi.

Tak kalah penting, selama ini ia menilai transaksi trade finance kerap dilakukan secara konvensional sehingga kurang efisien dan membutuhkan waktu lama. Prosesnya semakin rumit ketika pandemi Covid-19 terjadi. Pembatasan sosial dan aktivitas berdampak terhadap terhambatnya prosedur transaksi.

Menurutnya, implementasi blockchain akan mempermudah transaksi perdagangan global hingga kebutuhan penerbitan letter of credit (L/C). Dengan keunggulan yang dimilikinya, blockchain dianggap mampu menghemat waktu transaksi, meminimalisasi risiko penipuan, dan menyederhanakan proses kompleks yang selama ini menjadi tantangan besar dalam transaksi trade finance.

“Tak cuma itu, teknologi blockchain akan memperluas jangkauan layanan PermataBank. Nasabah trade finance juga dapat bertransaksi tanpa harus datang ke kantor cabang PermataBank,” ungkap Darwin.

Sementara itu, CEO Contour Carl Wegner menambahkan, perdagangan global berperan penting terhadap perekonomian Indonesia. Akan tetapi, transaksi trade finance yang selama ini dilakukan secara manual menghambat pertumbuhan perdagangan. Maka itu, keterlibatan Contour dalam fasilitas trade finance di PermataBank diharapkan dapat membuka akses ke komunitas di seluruh dunia.

Teknologi transformatif untuk perdagangan

Berdasarkan laporan 2020 Global Trade Survey yang dirilis International Chamber of Commerce, kegiatan perdagangan dan pembiayaan perdagangan (trade finance) di dunia tengah di ambang ketidakpastian akibat Covid-19.

Berdasarkan hasil survei terhadap 346 bank dari 85 negara di dunia, responden mengungkapkan kekhawatirannya akan penurunan pertumbuhan transaksi trade finance. Kendati demikian, responden justru menilai kegiatan lockdown dan WFH justru mempercepat transisi perdagangan ke platform digital, yang mana salah satunya melalui teknologi blockchain.

2020 Global Trade Survey / International Chamber of Commerce

Sebanyak 54% responden mengaku teknologi transformatif menjadi area prioritas pengembangan dan fokus strategis mereka dalam jangka pendek karena mereka ingin mengamankan pertumbuhan di masa depan. Menurut responden, teknologi digital dapat memacu peluang transformasi lebih besar di industri keuangan global yang selama ini masih identik dengan proses manual berbasis kertas.

Dalam tulisannya, Head of Trade and Supply Chain R3 Alisa DiCaprio menyebutkan bahwa kegiatan trade finance termasuk yang paling sulit untuk dimodernisasi. Pasalnya, proses transaksinya selama ini masih melibatkan banyak proses manual berbasis kertas yang dinilai tidak cocok lagi di era digital. Berdasarkan data Asian Development Bank (ADB), hampir $1,5 triliun pengajuan pembiayaan perdagangan ditolak karena inefisiensi.

Ia menilai blockchain memiliki hasil nyata dalam mengurangi biaya, risiko, dan potensi penundaan bagi pihak yang terlibat dalam transaksi pembiayaan perdagangan. Jika diimplementasi secara efektif, blockchain dapat berpotensi membuka peluang $1,5 triliun dalam pembiayaan perdagangan global.

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BCA Digital Gandeng Blibli sebagai Mitra Ekslusif Aplikasi “blu”

Setelah aplikasinya meluncur pada akhir Juni lalu, PT Bank Digital BCA (BCA Digital) kini resmi mengumumkan Blibli sebagai partner eksklusif “blu” yang pertama untuk memperkuat ekosistem digitalnya. Melalui kolaborasi ini, Blibli diklaim sebagai sebagai platform e-commerce pertama di Indonesia yang terintegrasi dengan aplikasi bank digital.

Dalam konferensi pers yang digelar virtual, CEO Bank Digital Lanny Budiati mengatakan, inovasi perbankan digital terus berkembang dan tidak lagi terbatas pada layanan finansial saja. Semakin ke sini, penggunaan perbankan digital semakin erat dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, seperti pembayaran transaksi e-commerce, investasi, dan pengelolaan keuangan.

“Kemitraan eksklusif BCA Digital dan Blibli dilakukan untuk memperluas skala ekosistem digital yang berkelanjutan. Keduanya juga punya kesamaan misi, yaitu memprioritas kepuasan pelanggan dan melayani segmen digital savvy,” ungkap Lanny.

Sementara, Co-founder dan CEO Blibli Kusumo Martanto meyakini bahwa pengembangan ekosistem digital di Indonesia dapat mencapai potensi optimalnya melalui kolaborasi. “Maka itu, kami terus berkomitmen untuk berinovasi dan menyesuaikan strategi dengan pasar yang terus berubah dengan menjawab tantangan dan pengalaman selama satu dekade ini,” tambahnya.

Pada tahap awal, integrasi kedua platform memungkinkan pengguna Blibli untuk melakukan pembukaan rekening blu secara langsung, melakukan pembayaran e-commerce, hingga bertransaksi melalui fitur in-app payment atau fitur QRIS.

Adapun, blu menggandeng PT Dwi Cermati Indonesia (Cermati) sebagai mitra integrator untuk mensinergikan plaform blu ke Blibli. Cermati juga akan memiliki peran penting terhadap pengembangan produk blu di masa depan.

Saat ini, blu punya tiga fitur unggulan yang dapat memberikan kebebasan mengatur keuangan, yaitu bluSaving, bluDeposit, dan bluGether. Berdasarkan data perusahaan, sebanyak 26,2% pengguna mengalokasikan budget di bluSaving untuk belanja. Kemudian, disusul oleh 20,9% alokasi tabungan untuk berlibur, 18,5% untuk dana pensiun, 17,2% untuk membeli rumah, dan 17% untuk kado. Tahun ini, BCA Digital membidik ratusan ribu pengguna blu.

Sampai saat ini, e-commerce masih menjadi motor penggerak terbesar ekonomi digital di Indonesia. Berdasarkan laporan e-Conomy SEA dari Google, Temasek, dan Bain & Company di 2020, e-commerce menyumbang pertumbuhan tertinggi sebesar 54% atau menjadi $32 miliar dari sebelumnya $21 miliar di 2019.

Sinergi bank digital dan e-commerce

Kolaborasi ini sebetulnya tidak mengherankan mengingat induk blu (BCA Group) dan Blibli merupakan anak usaha dari perusahaan konglomerasi Djarum Group. Dengan kemitraan eksklusif ini, BCA Digital dan Blibli dapat mengeksplorasi model sinergi lebih jauh untuk dapat dikembangkan bersama.

Induk BCA Digital memiliki basis pengguna, jaringan ATM, dan jaringan merchant yang kuat. Sementara Blibli kini bermain di segmen B2C, B2B, dan B2B2C. Platform yang berdiri di 2010 ini juga mengoperasikan Blibli Express Service (BES) yang sudah bekerja sama dengan 27 mitra logistik, 20 gudang barang, dan 32 hub di kota-kota besar Indonesia.

Sejak beberapa tahun terakhir perbankan memang mulai memanfaatkan platform digital, baik itu e-commerce, ride hailing, atau fintech sebagai front-end channel untuk mengakuisisi nasabah baru. Namun, untuk mengoptimalkan kolaborasi dan sinergi, sejumlah platform digital mulai masuk sebagai pemegang saham di bank digital.

Beberapa di antaranya adalah Gojek ke Bank Jago, Akulaku ke Bank Neo Commerce, dan Sea Group (induk Shopee) ke Bank Kesejahteraan Ekonomi (BKE). Pada kasus Bank Jago, sinerginya dengan Gojek akan semakin luas mengingat platform ini telah resmi merger dengan Tokopedia menjadi GoTo. Tokopedia merupakan salah satu platform e-commerce terbesar di Indonesia.

Perubahan paradigma

Didukung arus modal yang besar, tren perusahaan digital yang masuk ke ekosistem perbankan terus bertambah — baik secara global maupun nasional. Maka hal yang layak menjadi perhatian adalah bagaimana “keterlibatan digital” merasuk menjadi DNA dari layanan perbankan itu sendiri.

Dalam sebuah survei ditemukan fakta bahwa ada kecenderungan konsumen untuk memperluas penggunaan sistem perbankan di varian layanan yang lebih luas.

Di Indonesia sendiri tren tersebut mulai diterjemahkan dengan baik oleh masing-masing, baik dari sisi perbankan [yang sebelumnya tradisional] maupun platform digital. Contohnya dalam realisasi kerja sama peluncuran kartu kredit khusus Traveloka bagi nasabah Bank Mandiri dan BRI. Model layanan berbasis Banking as a Services akan memiliki peran penting dalam proses integrasi.

Skenarionya tentu akan lebih intensif saat bank [terlebih digital] memiliki hubungan spesial dengan platform digital tertentu.

Di lain sisi, pandemi banyak mengubah tentang pengalaman yang diharapkan dari nasabah perbankan. Selain meminta penyedia layanan mempertimbangkan digitalisasi menyeluruh, responden mengharapkan ada pengalaman yang lebih personal dan menyeluruh.

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GudangAda Closes Series B Round with 1.49 Trillion Rupiah Funding

The B2B marketplace platform for FMCG, GudangAda, has secured another investment of $100 million or around 1.49 trillion rupiah. This is a series B funding round led by Asia Partners and Falcon Edge.

Also, Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC Ventures, and Wavemake Partners are participated in this funding. For GudangAda, this investment has exceeded its initial target, which was $75 million. With the additional funding, GudangAda has now raised a total investment of up to $135 million.

Falcon Edge’s Co-Founder, Navroz D. Udwadia said, after years of investing in a number of marketplace, Stevensang seemed to have the ability to execute business in a short time. Therefore, he is optimistic that GudangAda will become the largest marketplace for Indonesian MSMEs

“With our research and discussion with principals, wholesalers and retailers, we are confident in GudangAda’s return on investment (ROI) and the benefits it offers to the entire ecosystem,” he said.

Enhance the supply chain business

GudangAda’s Founder and CEO, Stevensang said the company is now in the right path to empower all players in the Indonesian supply chain ecosystem, from producers, distributors, wholesalers, to retailers. GudangAda said its services have been used by nearly half a million users in more than 500 cities in tier 1 to tier 3 with a comprehensive monetization model and complete ecosystem.

“We will expand GudangAda’s team and enhance our service ecosystem from logistics, payment systems (POS/SaaS), marketing, data, to financial services. We will also strengthen our position by developing artificial intelligence to offer the best personalized services to SME traders,” he said in an official statement.

Meanwhile, GudangAda’s CFO, JJ Ang said that investors’ enthusiasm has proven GudangAda’s success in building a platform with efficient capital while reaping growth. GudangAda is said to start monetizing its business since the first quarter of 2020.

GudangAda claims to be one of the B2B marketplace platforms with the fastest growth and most productive capital in the Southeast Asia region. Based on the records, GudangAda has raised $6 billion Net Merchandise Value (NMV) in less than three years.

Meanwhile, the total investment value is less than $35 million with an efficiency ratio of 170 times. Moreover, the GudangAda Logistik service has been recorded to have doubled every two months since its launching in mid-2020.

Applying the asset-light and capital-efficient business concept, GudangAda has collaborated with vehicle and warehouse business owners, including its MSMEs members. In addition, GudangAda offers a dynamic transportation and warehouse management service system to make it easier for partners to digitize their business.

GudangAda offers a one-stop solution for MSME players to make it easier to access various products. By targeting the FMCG sector, GudangAda has expanded its product categories to medicines, pharmaceuticals, and household appliances. Since the category expansion, GudangAda has experienced an increase in transactions from tens of thousands of MSMEs.

Currently, GudangAda has officially partnered with more than 65 principals, both local, national and multinational. One of these investments is used to expand cooperation with more principals.

MSME as the target market

In a general note, the number of MSME players in Indonesia is estimated to reach more than 65 million as of 2020. With the digital acceleration last year, SIRCLO’s e-commerce enabler report revealed that online retailers are expected to contribute 24% in 2022. In the report, sales on digital channels can be maximized, especially by FMCG brands which market everyday products.

B2B marketplace services such as GudangAda allow these MSME actors to get product stock more efficiently.

Actually, GudangAda is not thesole player in this sector. There are others, including Ula that also working on the existing potential. In addition, with a different approach, the online marketplace giants are promoting O2O strategies to make it easier for small traders to access various products — for example, by Mitra Bukalapak or Mitra Tokopedia.

The digitization, in the long term, also provides MSMEs with potential to gain more benefits, including financially. One of the scenarios started to be promoted is that recorded transaction data can be used as a credit scoring variable to help MSME players gain access to capital financing. Thus, it will support their efforts to increase the capability and size of the business they are starting.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

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GudangAda Tutup Putaran Pendanaan Seri B 1,49 Triliun Rupiah

Platform B2B marketplace untuk FMCG, GudangAda kembali mengantongi investasi sebesar $100 juta atau sekitar 1,49 triliun rupiah. Investasi ini merupakan putaran pendanaan seri B yang dipimpin oleh Asia Partners dan Falcon Edge.

Adapun Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC Ventures, dan Wavemake Partners kembali berpartisipasi pada pendanaan ini. Menurut GudangAda, investasi ini telah melampaui target awal yang ingin dikumpulkan, yakni sebesar $75 juta. Dengan tambahan pendanaan baru, GudangAda kini telah mengumpulkan total keseluruhan investasi hingga $135 juta.

Co-Founder Falcon Edge Navroz D. Udwadia mengatakan, selama bertahun-tahun berinvestasi di sejumlah kategori marketplace, sosok Stevensang dinilai memiliki kemampuan eksekusi bisnis dalam waktu singkat. Maka itu, ia optimistis GudangAda menjadi marketplace terbesar bagi UMKM Indonesia

“Dengan penelitian dan percakapan yang kami lakukan dengan para prinsipal, grosir, dan pengecer, kami yakin dengan return on investment (ROI) GudangAda dan manfaat yang ditawarkan kepada seluruh ekosistem,” ujarnya.

Memperkuat bisnis di rantai pasokan

Founder dan CEO GudangAda Stevensang mengatakan, perusahaan kini berada di posisi tepat untuk memberdayakan seluruh pemain di ekosistem rantai pasokan Indonesia, mulai dari produsen, distributor, grosir, hingga pengecer. GudangAda mengatakan layanannya telah digunakan hampir setengah juta pengguna di lebih dari 500 kota tier 1 hingga tier 3 dengan model monetisasi komprehensif dan ekosistem lengkap.

“Kami akan memperbesar tim GudangAda dan memperkuat ekosistem layanan kami mulai dari logistik, sistem pembayaran (POS/SaaS), pemasaran, data, hingga layanan keuangan. Kami juga akan memperkuat posisi kami dengan mengembangkan kecerdasan buatan untuk menawarkan layanan personalisasi terbaik kepada para pedagang UKM,” ujarnya dalam keterangan resmi.

Sementara CFO GudangAda JJ Ang menilai minat besar investor kali ini menjadi bukti keberhasilan GudangAda dalam membangun platform dengan modal efisien dan meraup pertumbuhan. GudangAda menyebut sudah mulai memonetisasi bisnisnya sejak kuartal pertama 2020.

GudangAda mengklaim sebagai salah satu platform B2B marketplace dengan pertumbuhan tercepat dan modal terproduktif di kawasan Asia Tenggara. Berdasarkan catatannya, GudangAda mengantongi Net Merchandise Value (NMV) sebesar $6 miliar dalam waktu kurang dari tiga tahun.

Sementara, nilai investasi terakumulasi kurang dari $35 juta dengan rasio efisiensi permodalan sebesar 170 kali. Kemudian, layanan GudangAda Logistik tercatat naik dua kali lipat setiap dua bulan sejak meluncur pertama kali di pertengahan 2020.

Menerapkan konsep bisnis asset-light dan capital-efficient, GudangAda telah bekerja sama dengan para pemilik bisnis kendaraan dan gudang, termasuk juga di antaranya dengan UMKM member GudangAda. Di luar kerja sama tersebut, GudangAda juga menawarkan sistem layanan manajemen transportasi dan gudang yang dinamis untuk memudahkan mitra mendigitalisasi bisnisnya.

GudangAda menawarkan one-stop solution kepada pelaku UMKM sehingga memudahkan akses berbagai produk secara efisien. Dengan menyasar sektor FMCG, GudangAda telah memperluas kategori produknya ke produk obat-obatan, farmasi, hingga peralatan rumah tangga. Sejak perluasan kategori ini, GudangAda mengalami peningkatan transaksi dari puluhan ribu UMKM.

Saat ini, GudangAda telah bermitra secara resmi dengan lebih dari 65 prinsipal, baik lokal, nasional, dan multinasional. Investasi ini salah satunya digunakan untuk memperluas kerja sama dengan lebih banyak prinsipal.

UMKM sebagai pangsa pasar

Sebagaimana diketahui, jumlah pelaku UMKM di Indonesia diestimasi mencapai lebih dari 65 juta per 2020. Dengan percepatan akselerasi digital tahun lalu, laporan e-commerce enabler SIRCLO mengungkap bahwa peritel online diperkirakan dapat berkontribusi sebesar 24% di 2022. Dalam laporannya, penjualan di kanal digital dapat dimaksimalkan, terutama oleh brand FMCG yang memasarkan produk sehari-hari.

Layanan marketplace B2B seperti GudangAda memungkinkan para pelaku UMKM tersebut mendapatkan stok produk secara lebih efisien.

Sebenarnya tidak hanya GudangAda yang melakukan hal tersebut. Beberapa pemain lain seperti Ula juga menggarap potensi yang ada. Di samping itu dengan pendekatan berbeda, para raksasa online marketplace menggalakkan strategi O2O untuk memudahkan pedagang kecil mengakses berbagai produk — misalnya yang dilakukan oleh Mitra Bukalapak atau Mitra Tokopedia.

Digitalisasi proses tersebut, untuk jangka panjang, juga memberikan potensi bagi UMKM untuk mendapatkan manfaat lebih banyak, termasuk dalam kaitannya dengan finansial. Salah satu skenario yang mulai digalakkan, data-data transaksi yang dibukukan dapat dimanfaatkan sebagai salah satu variabel skoring kredit untuk membantu pelaku UMKM mendapatkan akses pembiayaan modal. Sehingga akan mendukung upaya mereka meningkatkan kapabilitas dan ukuran bisnis yang dirintisnya.

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A Starter Kit to Become Angel Investor

Based on data compiled by DailySocial, there are at least seven deals in Indonesia that have announced to receive funding from angel investors in 2020.

In a recent conversation with DailySocial, Edward Tirtanata once mentioned the landscape of angel investors in Indonesia. He said, the current angel investor ecosystem is not very developed. In fact, quite a few startups seek access to early-stage funding through this route.

Indonesia currently has an angel investment network through ANGIN (Angel Investment Network Indonesia), however, if you refer to information from a number of startup founders, there is not much access to connect with angel investors. The existence of angel investors in Indonesia is not actually non-existent, it’s just that they tend to avoid exposure.

In addition to access, there is another issue that is quite interesting and gain much attention, the amount of investment value to become an angel investor. Can someone who was not quite rich, be an angel investor? If the answer is yes, what is the ideal value should one has to become an angel investor?

Angel Investor’s definition

In a blog written by journalist and investment observer Chris Muller, there are some tips that can be implemented by anyone who wants to try their luck as an angel investor, even though they may not be rich.

Before we get there, let’s clarify what an angel investor is. Muller defines it as someone who has enough money to invest in an early-stage business or an existing business that is already growing. Similar to investors in general, angel investors crave a return on investment which is usually in the form of equity in the company or revenue sharing.

As citing Entrepreneurs, their motivation to invest is not solely for profit, but based on the desire to help new business. Angel investors can come from various professions, such as doctors, lawyers, suppliers, or business partners. Unlike the VC which stands as an institution to invest other people’s money.

When referring to regulations in the United States (US), anyone can become an angel investor as long as they meet the requirements as an “accredited investor” by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Stock Exchange Commission, which is to have a net worth of $1 million or more (excluding residence principal) and earns $200,000 per year.

How much capital required?

Back to the first question, is it possible to invest in a small amount of money? How much does it take to become an angel investor? Muller revealed, referring to recommendations from experienced investors, investors allocate up to 10% of the portfolio for angel investment.

This might not answer how much is actually required. The easiest answer that can be given is that it depends on the type and size of the targeted investment. If you copy the references to the television show Shark Tank, you can start with an investment of hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

In fact you could have invested on a smaller scale, says $10,000. However, Muller highlighted that the smaller the investment, the smaller the shares owned (and of course the profits). This amount can also be a factor that affects the involvement of investors in making business decisions.

He gave an example, if the total investment in the portfolio is $100,000, this will fulfill the 10% portion as mentioned earlier. However, if you want to invest in a good startup business, he recommends having at least $50,000 – meaning your overall portfolio can be close to $500,000.

Meanwhile, quoted from Pluang blog, Angel Capital Association data noted that investors with entrepreneurial backgrounds invest an average of $39,000. There are also those who invest an average of $28,000. There is no specific amount, it all depends on the investor and the targeted business.

Collectively, global angel investors set aside up to $24 billion to invest in 64,000 startups each year.

Pros and cons of angel investors

Basically, investing is not just a way to enjoy profits. It’s a risky movement and you could lose probably all of the money – even if the company underperforms or goes bankrupt. Other data from the Angel Capital Association shows that at least 50% of angel investors lost half of their funds.

Moreover, we need to underline that this is an investment, not a loan. One of the reasons why businesses prefer angel investment is because it is not recorded as a loan on their balance sheet. Angel investors buy part of the company. This means that there is another way if the business fails and you lose money than bothering to take action if it is a loan that cannot be repaid.

On the other hand, angel investment can also potentially generate very high returns. Muller gave an example, Peter Thiel’s investment in Facebook has become one of the most popular angel investments. Thiel injected $500,000 into Facebook in 2004 before Mark Zuckerberg’s platform went public. If only Thiel hadn’t sold his 80% stake by now, Thiel’s stake could be worth $10 billion today.

Another plus side is that you can build your company the way you want. Angel investment makes it possible to acquire ownership of the company, which automatically enables you to be involved in making decisions. However, this is all provided that it refers to the size of the investment and the agreement you make with the business owner.

What is also important is investment diversification. Muller said, angel investing gives investors the option to expand their investment portfolio, such as stocks, bonds, and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Investors can become part owners of the company and pocket returns in the form of company profits.

Does angel investment profit?

Still referring to the Pluang blog, a number of angel investors reported returns ten times higher than their initial investment after selling their shares in the company.

Based on a number of studies, only 5-10% of angel investments are recorded for profit. On average, 11% of funded companies generate positive exits. It also has a variety of exit results.

Thus, not all exits are profitable for angel investors. All of this goes back to the research conducted by investors regarding the company and the business category to be funded. First understand the business you want to fund before deciding to invest.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Bank Jago Plans for Sharia Services and MSME Financing This Year

Aside from gradual integration with the Gojek ecosystem, PT Bank Jago Tbk (IDX: ARTO) is also preparing to extend the coverage of digital banking services in 2021.

This year, Bank Jago targeted the middle income and mass market segment, including MSMEs and retail (consumer), both conventional and sharia.

Bank Jago’s President Director, Kharim Indra Gupta Siregar revealed that they will be focused on two things, digital-based sharia services and lending through digital platforms for MSMEs.

The following is an extension of DailySocial’s exclusive interview with Kharim Indra Gupta Siregar and Bank Jago Commissioner Anika Faisal.

Sharia digital banking

Currently, Bank Jago is exploring whether this digital sharia will be presented in a new app or just an additional service in an existing one, Jago App. The company has considered several things regarding this development.

Kharim thought, today’s Islamic banking products in Indonesia tend to be associated as different products from its parent company, which in fact is a conventional bank. This is the factor that makes the new sharia services development to follow the conventional way.

The market opportunity for Islamic banks is very large considering its penetration is quite low in Indonesia. Referring to data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the market share of Islamic banks was only 6.33% as of October 2020. The increase was not too significant compared to the market share in 2017 which was only 5%.

In addition, the current Islamic mobile banking services have mostly used the USSD menu considering that the digital ecosystem was not ready at that time, smartphones and airtime were still quite expensive.

He observed that Bank Jago’s position as a tech-based bank provides space for companies to utilize 100% of the same capabilities in developing Islamic banking platforms. Whether it is presented in the form of a new app, it will duplicate the Pocket Jago App feature to the sharia platform.

“Currently, we are going through various processes, such as approval and others. We will have it soon. We’ve seen a good opportunity where sharia users can get similar services on the Jago App. We provide all the capabilities there,” Kharim said.

Meanwhile, Anika Faisal considers that there are no Islamic banking products in Indonesia to date that are able to provide a good user experience. She said, these various considerations are to ensure the company can provide a product proposition that is as good as Jago App.

“I have my own preference for sharia services, not in the context [service preference] for usury or not. Unfortunately, sharia mobile banking in Indonesia is currently not able to provide convenience. Therefore, I challenge Bank Jago to have good convenience products. The product [sharia] is basically the same, but what matters is the service,” she said.

Digital lending for MSME

In 2020, the number of MSME players in Indonesia is estimated to reach more than 65 million, contributing more than 50% to Indonesia’s GDP, and absorbing 97% of the active work budget in Indonesia.

The Bain & Company report in 2019 recorded that there were as many as 92 million people or 50% of the total population who did not have access to banking services (unbanked). 25% or 47 million of them do not have adequate access to banking services (underbanked).

Bank Jago observes promising potential in these two segments. In its 2020 financial report, Bank Jago is said to build a financing business with a digital ecosystem managed through Partnership Lending (Business Finance Solution). Since last year, Bank Jago has collaborated with fintech platforms to channel financing.

Some that have been announced include Akseleran, Akulaku Finance, and Adakami.

The collaboration is expected to accelerate the customer acquisition process, which Bank Jago defines as the productive pre-prosperous segment. This segment is considered to have passed the poverty level, but still needs financing. The company targets this lending to be significantly distributed to this segment.

“We will prepare products/services for the entrepreneurial segment as we see great potential from this segment of business players who are yet to be fully formalized. We are going to announce and it’s in progress. After the second right issue, we get strong capital to pursue lending growth because we don’t have a lot of legacy lending products. Therefore, we can focus more on partnerships. Currently, we have partnered with ten lending sites,” Kharim said.

Overall, he said, Bank Jago has closed good number on growth in lending. According to its records, as of the end of 2020 until the first quarter of 2021, Bank Jago has disbursed loans from around Rp900 billion to Rp1.3 trillion with an increase of 40%.

Kharim revealed that his team will collaborate with partners to provide lending products on the Jago App to support the underwriting process and determine whether prospective customers are eligible for loans.

“Currently, Gojek customers have been offered PayLater products. It means, there is analytics support to provide lending to customers. In this model, we want to expand what can we provided through lending products. This also depends on the ecosystem, such as Gojek’s user ecosystem, partners drivers, and merchant partners. Each has a different approach. We can do this after the Jago App and Gojek integration is running,” he said.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

GetCraft Strengthen Its Position as Southeast Asia’s Creative Hub

Recently, SOSV Chinaccelerator global VC officially announced the seed funding with an undisclosed amount to GetCraft marketing platform. According to SOSV representatives, GetCraft is the only investment portfolio from Indonesia in this batch.

Chinaccelerator’s Partner & Managing Director, Oscar Ramos said that his team saw the potential of local creative economy growing in Indonesia and began to strengthen its position in the Southeast Asian market. “GetCraft was founded in Indonesia but has a strong position as a creative space in the region,” Ramos said.

With additional funding from SOSV Chinaccelerator in December 2020, GetCraft has now recorded four funding rounds. Previously, this Jakarta-based platform has received investment from Convergence Ventures and 500 Startups.

GetCraft was founded in 2014 by Patrick Searle and Anthony Reza. Based on company data, it has posted revenue of more than $8 million in 2020 and has organized creative and marketing products by more than 1,500 brands and agencies.

In 2018, GetCraft launched a marketplace platform that connects creative business people with marketers in marketing activities. This marketplace allows marketers to estimate costs and potential audiences based on their chosen content creator or sponsored content partner. This capability makes it easier for marketers to plan their content marketing campaigns.

Expansion and strenghtening position in Southeast Asia

In separate interview with DailySocial, GetCraft avoids to reveal its plans and strategies in Indonesia as it is focusing on closing a new funding round.

However, GetCraft has the opportunity to expand its business scale. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic where marketers began to shift marketing campaigns along with changes in consumer behavior. Currently, GetCraft is available in Indonesia, the Philippines, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The pandemic could have create opportunities for expansion into other markets.

Based on data from the Focus Economy Outlook 2020, the creative economy contributed IDR 1,100 trillion to Indonesia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) throughout 2020. This is strong evidence that this sector can survive during the pandemic.

In addition, the need for digital marketing content, influencers, and native ads is quite high. This is highlighted by the increasing number of active internet and social media users in Indonesia. We Are Social’s data as of January 2021 recorded that mobile and internet users in Indonesia has reached 345.3 million and 202.6 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of active social media users reached 170 million. Some of the social media most accessed by the Indonesian people include YouTube (93.8%), WhatsApp (87.7%), Instagram (86.6%), Facebook (85.5%), and Twitter (63. 6%).

In terms of competition, GetCraft already has a strong position in the regional market as mentioned by Ramos. For the Indonesian market alone, GetCraft seems to be superior to similar platforms whose numbers may not be as many and the services offered are limited to certain categories.

Meanwhile, GetCraft enters through a wider scope of creative marketing content services, not only writing, but also videos, animations, and illustrations. Outside the marketplace, GetCraft has even entered the community segment through its paid services Crafters and MarketingCraft.

Crafters is a premium service that provides a variety of content to improve creator’s skills, such as pitching tips, creating entertainment content, and business monetization. The difference with MarketingCraft, this content is intended to sharpen the skills of marketers.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Desty Bags 46 Billion Rupiah Pre-Series A Led by 5Y Capital

Desty micro site provider startup announced a pre-series A funding round worth of $3.2 million or around 46 billion rupiah. The new funding was led by 5Y Capital. Some investors also participated, including Fosun RZ Capital, January Capital, IN Capital, and East Ventures.

For further information, 5Y Capital is a China-based VC (formerly Morningside Venture Capital) that focuses on early-stage funding. 5Y Capital has invested in Xiaomi and Kuaishou. Currently, Desty is 5Y Capital’s first investment portfolio in Indonesia.

Desty is a digital platform that helps content creators, influencers and sellers on social media to market and sell their products. Users can create a mini site placed on a social media bio link or online store for free in just a few minutes. The concept is similar to Linktree with broader features.

Desty was founded in October 2020 by Mulyono Xu (CEO) and Bill Wang (COO). Both have experience and expertise in building e-commerce for 17 years under the Alibaba Group. The startup has previously secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding from East Ventures.

Through this additional investment, the company is still focused on increasing the number of teams and its user base. Xu said, Desty team is currently backed by talents with working experience in giant technology companies, from Alibaba, Facebook, Google, and Bukalapak.

In addition, he said, Desty also continues to ensure that sellers who have joined its ecosystem can develop their business efficiently. The platform is said to have been used by hundreds of thousands of users. Especially in the Covid-19 pandemic situation, sellers or merchants should be able to adapt to manage their business digitally.

“We’ve seen Desty’s exponential growth at the right time due to the rapid growth of e-commerce in Indonesia during the pandemic. Therefore, we believe merchants need various options for where to shop for consumers, either through marketplaces, independent websites, or social media,” Xu said.

East Ventures’ Co-founder & Managing Partner, Willson Cuaca agreed on this. He said, the pandemic has had a positive impact in accelerating digital adoption to the wider community. Desty is considered to have paved the way for merchants, influencers, and creators to start digitizing product sales digitally.

Based on data compiled by Desty from several sources, the number of e-commerce transactions jumped 18.1% to 98.3 million with an additional 12 million new users throughout 2020. Indonesian people has three main destinations to shop, marketplaces (97%) ), independent business domain/website (91%), and social media (82%).

5Y Capital’s VP of Investment, Hanson Hu added that links are very important key in the internet ecosystem as they can bring people together, online with offline, and demand with supply.

“In terms of e-commerce, links open up great opportunities in connecting social and content with e-commerce transactions as we have seen this trend in China. We believe Desty can become the infrastructure for links in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce industry. Therefore, its presence can contribute to creating a closer content, social and e-commerce ecosystem,” he added.

Currently, Desty offers two main products, Desty Page and Desty Store. Desty Page is a landing page service to optimize the link feature on social media accounts, especially Instagram. Meanwhile, Desty Store is a complement to the marketplace channel that provides a platform to help users easily open online stores.

As a supporting product, Desty also developed Desty Academy as an information and training center for users who want to develop their business.

Desty Peroleh Pendanaan Pra-Seri A 46 Miliar Rupiah Dipimpin 5Y Capital

Startup penyedia situs mikro Desty kembali mengumumkan perolehan pendanaan putaran pra-seri A senilai $3,2 juta atau sekitar 46 miliar rupiah. Pendanaan baru ini dipimpin oleh 5Y Capital. Sejumlah investor juga turut berpartisipasi di antaranya Fosun RZ Capital, January Capital, IN Capital, dan East Ventures.

Sekadar informasi, 5Y Capital merupakan VC asal Tiongkok (sebelumnya bernama Morningside Venture Capital) yang fokus pada pendanaan tahap awal. 5Y Capital pernah berinvestasi di Xiaomi dan Kuaishou. Saat ini, Desty menjadi portofolio investasi pertama 5Y Capital di Indonesia.

Desty adalah platform digital yang membantu kreator konten, influencer, dan penjual di media sosial untuk memasarkan dan menjual produk mereka. Pengguna dapat membuat situs mini yang diletakkan pada tautan bio media sosial atau toko online secara gratis hanya dalam beberapa menit. Konsepnya mirip dengan Linktree dengan fitur yang lebih luas.

Desty didirikan pada Oktober 2020 oleh Mulyono Xu (CEO) dan Bill Wang (COO). Keduanya memiliki pengalaman dan keahlian membangun e-commece selama 17 tahun di bawah naungan Alibaba Group. Startup ini sebelumnya telah mengantongi pendanaan tahap awal dengan nilai yang tidak disebutkan dari East Ventures.

Melalui tambahan investasi ini, perusahaan masih fokus untuk menambah jumlah tim dan meningkatkan basis penggunanya. Menurut Mulyono, saat ini tim Desty diperkuat oleh talenta-talenta yang telah berpengalaman bekerja di perusahaan teknologi raksasa, mulai dari Alibaba, Facebook, Google, Bukalapak.

Di samping itu, ungkapnya, Desty juga terus berupaya memastikan penjual yang telah tergabung di ekosistem Desty dapat mengembangkan bisnisnya secara efisien. Platform Desty diklaim telah digunakan ratusan ribu pengguna. Terlebih di situasi pandemi Covid-19, penjual atau merchant harus bisa beradaptasi mengelola bisnis mereka secara digital.

“Kami melihat pertumbuhan eksponensial Desty tercapai di saat yang tepat dikarenakan pesatnya pertumbuhan e-commerce di Indonesia selama pandemi. Maka itu, kami percaya para merchant membutuhkan berbagai opsi tempat berbelanja kepada konsumen, baik lewat marketplace, website milik sendiri, atau media sosial,” papar Mulyono.

Hal ini juga diamini oleh Co-founder & Managing Partner East Ventures Willson Cuaca. Menurutnya, pandemi telah memberikan dampak positif dalam mengakselerasi adopsi digital ke masyarakat luas. Desty dinilai telah membuka jalan bagi merchant, influencer, dan kreator untuk mulai mendigitalisasi penjualan produk secara digital.

Berdasarkan data yang dihimpun Desty dari sejumlah sumber, jumlah transaksi e-commerce melonjak 18,1% menjadi 98,3 juta dengan tambahan 12 juta pengguna baru di sepanjang 2020. Ada tiga destinasi utama yang dipilih masyarakat Indonesia untuk berbelanja, yaitu marketplace (97%), domain/situs web bisnis sendiri (91%), dan media sosial (82%).

VP of Investment 5Y Capital Hanson Hu menambahkan bahwa tautan menjadi kunci penting dalam ekosistem internet karena dapat mempertemukan orang dengan orang, online dengan offline, hingga permintaan dengan suplai.

“Dalam konteks e-commerce, tautan membuka peluang besar dalam menghubungkan sosial dan konten dengan transaksi e-commerce sebagaimana tren ini kami lihat di Tiongkok. Kami yakin Desty dapat menjadi infrastruktur bagi tautan di industri e-commerce Asia Tenggara. Dengan begitu, kehadirannya dapat berkontribusi menciptakan ekosistem konten, sosial, dan e-commerce yang lebih erat,” tambahnya.

Saat ini, Desty menawarkan dua produk utama, yakni Desty Page dan Desty Store. Desty Page adalah layanan landing page untuk mengoptimalkan fitur tautan pada akun media sosial, khususnya Instagram. Sementara, Desty Store merupakan pelengkap kanal marketplace yang menghadirkan platform untuk membantu pengguna membuka toko online dengan mudah.

Sebagai produk pendukung, Desty juga membuka Desty Academy sebagai pusat informasi dan pelatihan bagi pengguna yang ingin mengembangkan bisnis.

GetCraft Memperkuat Posisi Sebagai “Creative Hub” Asia Tenggara

Beberapa waktu lalu, VC global SOSV Chinaccelerator mengumumkan secara resmi pendanaan tahap awal dengan nominal yang dirahasiakan kepada platform marketing GetCraft. Menurut perwakilan SOSV, GetCraft menjadi satu-satunya portofolio investasi asal Indonesia pada angkatan ini.

Kepada DailySocial, Partner & Managing Director Chinaccelerator Oscar Ramos mengatakan, pihaknya melihat potensi ekonomi kreatif lokal semakin berkembang di Indonesia dan mulai memperkuat posisinya di pasar Asia Tenggara. “GetCraft didirikan di Indonesia tetapi telah memiliki posisi kuat sebagai creative space di kawasan ini,” ungkap Ramos.

Dengan tambahan pendanaan dari SOSV Chinaccelerator pada Desember 2020, GetCraft kini tercatat telah memperoleh empat kali putaran pendanaan. Sebelumnya, platform yang bermarkas di Jakarta ini telah menerima investasi dari Convergence Ventures dan 500 Startups.

GetCraft didirikan pada 2014 oleh Patrick Searle dan Anthony Reza. Berdasarkan data perusahaan, pihaknya telah membukukan pendapatan sebesar lebih dari $8 juta di 2020 dan telah mengorganisir produk kreatif dan pemasaran oleh lebih dari 1.500 brand dan agensi.

Pada 2018, GetCraft meluncurkan platform marketplace yang menghubungkan para pelaku bisnis kreatif dengan marketer dalam kegiatan pemasaran. Marketplace ini memungkinkan marketer untuk dapat mengestimasi biaya dan potensi audiens berdasarkan kreator konten atau mitra konten bersponsor yang mereka pilih. Kapabilitas tersebut mempermudah marketer untuk merencanakan kampanye pemasaran kontennya.

Ekspansi dan memperkuat posisi di Asia Tenggara

Dihubungi DailySocial secara terpisah, pihak GetCraft masih enggan mengungkap rencana dan strategi GetCraft di Indonesia karena tengah fokus menutup putaran pendanaan baru.

Namun, GetCraft memiliki peluang untuk memperluas skala bisnisnya. Terlebih di masa pandemi Covid-19 di mana marketer mulai mengalihkan kampanye pemasaran seiring dengan perubahan perilaku konsumen. Saat ini, GetCraft beroperasi di Indonesia, Filipina, Kuala Lumpur, dan Singapura. Pandemi bisa saja membuka pintu untuk ekspansi ke pasar lain.

Berdasarkan data Focus Economy Outlook 2020, ekonomi kreatif berkontribusi sebesar Rp1.100 triliun terhadap Produk Domestik Bruto (PDB) Indonesia di sepanjang 2020. Ini menjadi bukti kuat sektor ini dapat bertahan di masa pandemi.

Di samping itu, kebutuhan konten digital marketing, influencer, hingga native ads juga masih cukup tinggi. Hal ini turut diperkuat dengan semakin bertambahnya jumlah pengguna internet dan media sosial aktif di Indonesia. Data We Are Social per Januari 2021 mencatat pengguna mobile dan internet di Indonesia masing-masing mencapai 345,3 juta dan 202,6 juta.

Sementara, jumlah pengguna media sosial aktif mencapai sebesar 170 juta. Sejumlah media sosial yang paling banyak diakses oleh masyarakat Indonesia antara lain, Youtube (93,8%), WhatsApp (87,7%), Instagram (86,6%), Facebok (85,5%), dan Twitter (63,6%).

Dari sisi persaingan, GetCraft sudah memiliki posisi kuat di pasar regional sebagaimana disebutkan Ramos. Untuk pasar Indonesia saja, GetCraft tampaknya masih lebih unggul dibandingkan platform sejenis yang jumlahnya mungkin tidak bayak dan jasa yang ditawarkan terbatas pada kategori tertentu.

Sementara, GetCraft masuk lewat sekop jasa konten pemasaran kreatif yang lebih luas, tak hanya penulisan, tetapi juga video, animasi, hingga ilustrasi. Di luar marketplace, GetCraft bahkan masuk ke segmen komunitas melalui layanan berbayar Crafters dan MarketingCraft.

Crafters merupakan layanan premium yang menyediakan beragam konten untuk mengasah kemampuan kreator, seperti tips melakukan pitching, membuat konten hiburan, dan monetisasi bisnis. Bedanya dengan MarketingCraft, konten ini ditujukan untuk mempertajam kemampuan para marketer.