Approaching the IPO Moment, GoTo’s Valuation to Reach 403 Trillion

Last week (20/10) the decacorn GoTo Group announced a strategic cooperation agreement with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) subsidiary. As a follow-up, ADIA led the fundraising for GoTo’s pre-IPO worth $400 million or equivalent to IDR 5.6 trillion. This funding is estimated to boost the company’s valuation to $28.5 billion or equivalent to IDR 403.7 trillion – according to Reuters‘ sources.

This value increased significantly compared to the previous estimated valuation of $18 billion, by combining each company’s valuations as they were doing separate fundraising. Today’s situatuion is estimated to bring GoTo’s value to more than $30 billion in the lead-up to its IPO, with the public investment climate gains its best momentum.

“We are proud to welcome ADIA as the company’s newest investor and the first in our pre-IPO fundraising, as we prepare the business for exponential growth for years to come. This kind of support underscores our belief that Indonesia and Southeast Asia will be the next big destination for technology investment,” GoTo Group’s CEO, Andre Soelistyo said.

He said, GoTo has generated more than 1.8 billion transactions in 2020 with a total GTV of more than $22 billion. In the company’s ecosystem, there are more than 11 million partners, with the majority being MSMEs and more than 2 million driver-partners.

Fluktuation before IPO

Although it has not been officially announced, the GoTo IPO plan is predicted to be finalized in early 2022. Sources say that the go-public process will start at the local exchange (IDX), followed by New York.

“The IPO is one of our strategies to support the company’s sustainable growth. What we can ensure is that GoTo will always comply with all applicable regulations in carrying out every corporate action,” a company representative said to DailySocial.id.

The success of Bukalapak’s IPO at IDX and Grab’s previously announced plan to go public via SPAC become the benchmarks for ‘success’ to the next unicorn that will enter the stock market. Grab’s plan was delayed from the schedule, the SPAC agreement was targeted to complete in mid-2021. It is actually due to the request for a financial audit from the local exchange authority. The company is targeting a valuation of nearly $40 million just before going public.

The startup path to the stock exchange is being tested with various uncertainties. Including the declining interest in public offerings through SPAC – as it was too blatant. In 2021, there will be a lot of SPAC transactions on the NASDAQ, which will have an effect on the decline in the selling price of shares to below the expected nominal value. According to EY data, as of H1 2021 there were 634 successful SPAC transactions, a new record on the local stock exchange.

Previously, rumor has it that Traveloka would make a deal with Bridgetown Holdings Ltd. for SPAC. However, as we’ve recently informed, Traveloka’s board of directors decided not to proceed with this step. The company is likely to explore the traditional IPO process, remaining on US exchanges, according to Bloomberg sources.

On the other hand, Bukalapak’s corporate action in August 2021 also illustrates the good enthusiasm of local investors in welcoming local unicorns to the stock market.

Gojek-Tokopedia synergy

The GoTo Group continues to strive to accelerate its business pace, especially by combining the capability of Gojek and Tokopedia. Several initiatives were recently announced, such as setting Gopay and Gopaylater as the main payment options on Tokopedia.

“In addition, the synergies embodied in the GoTo ecosystem include cross-selling and upselling, a wider hyperlocal delivery network, the largest digital payment ecosystem and financial technology, as well as promotions and loyalty programs to expand users,” GoTo’s Corporate Affairs Nila Marita added.

Synergy is also designed to expand opportunities for Gojek driver partners to earn additional income, among others, realized through a number of Gojek and Tokopedia collaboration programs such as Indonesia Shopping Time (WIB). Driver partners have the opportunity to be able to send more orders from Tokopedia consumers.

“This business synergy also opens up great opportunities for GoTo to expand in several lines, such as daily necessities (grocery), fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and logistics,” Nila said.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

Finku Bags Pre-Seed Funding, Entering Digital Bookkeeping Service

In recent years, more digital bookkeeping platforms have emerged in Indonesia. Aside from the integration with banking, digital wallets to other fintech platforms; it also leverages the latest data and technology to function as a personal finance application.

One of the platforms launched this year is Finku. This service was founded by three Co-Founders, Shyam Kalairajah, Reinaldo Tendean, and Shylla Estee Pramadhani. Both Shyam and Reinaldo had previously worked at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), while Shylla had previously worked at Bukalapak.

According to his Linkedin page, Reinaldo mentions Finku’s vision to democratize finance for all Indonesians. He believes that Indonesian people regardless of their background have the same opportunity to make the best financial decisions.

“And we started this journey by providing infrastructure and tools to make simplify financial management, make it faster and more seamless. Indonesians no longer have to spend time manually tracking their expenses, through manual tracking apps, excel, or notes.”

Finku has partnered with KoinWorks and Flip. In addition to providing a reporting tool for various activities by manual input, Finku is also capable to manage user expenses using budget feature. Other favorite features include Timeline & Filter, Financial Target, Centralized Dashboard and Promos, discounts, and cashback. The Finku app is now available for download on Google Play and the App Store.

DailySocial tried to contact Finku’s founding team, but they were unwilling to comment.

In Indonesia, other platforms that provide similar services to Finku include Moni, Sribuu, and PINA.

Pre seed funding

Currently, Finku has been registered and supervised by Kominfo and the Indonesian FinTech Association. Around last August, Finku also received Pre-Seed funding from Global Founders Capital and 500 Startups.

DailySocial noted that there were 3 digital bookkeping services such as Finku that had received funding from investors during 2021. One of which is Sribuu that receives funding from BEENEXT and several angel investors, while Moni received seed funding from Bukalapak’s Co-Founder, Achmad Zaky. Before the application was launched, PINA had secured seed funding from 1982 Ventures, iSeed Asia, Prasetia Dwidharma, Oberyn Capital, and a series of angel investors.

The pandemic in particular has accelerated the growth of financial record-keeping platforms. The habit of online shopping among the public during the pandemic has encouraged the acceleration and adoption of non-cash transactions.

BI data also recorded an increase in digital transactions that reached 201 trillion Rupiah in 2020, rise 38.62% from 192 trillion Rupiah in 2019. It was also recorded that the use of electronic money reached 24 trillion Rupiah during June 2021, increased by 60% compared to the same period in 2020.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

iStyle Business Strategy and Growth Post Rebranding

The large demand for beauty and lifestyle products becomes iStyle’s current focus, as an e-commerce platform with an online mall concept. After last year rebranding, they continue to focus on expanding the product line by presenting Korean fashion brands such as Marhen J & Find Kapoor followed by various merchandise and K-Pop albums.

The company’s focus on Korean products is supported by the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) research in 2021. Indonesia is a country with high interest in the Korean wave. Based on this research, Indonesia positioned in the 4th rank as a country with high interested in Korean culture. 1 of 2 Indonesians like Korean things, from movies, dramas, music, and other entertainment programs.

“This Korean wave also influences people’s product preferences and becomes an inspiration for them in daily life, and this is proven as Korean products are the most sought after by iStyle.id customers,” iStyle’s CEO, Steven Calvin Victory said.

The changes made by the company last year started from changes in the organizational structure and also from the lessons learned during the four years of operation.

Pandemi and plans in 2022

During the pandemic, iStyle saw a change in the lifestyle of most of their users. The pandemic has changed people’s shopping behavior in fulfilling their needs, proven by the significant increase in the groceries category at the beginning of the pandemic (March-May 2020).

iStyle’s CMO, Ardi Sudarto revealed to DailySocial that demographically, the platform’s main users are women aged 22-35 years. However, iStyle also targets users aged 18-22 and above 35 as it is in line with the products offered.

These users are mostly live in big cities in Indonesia such as Jabodetabek, Surabaya, Makassar, and Medan. Currently, iStyle has reached 1.5 million members with 2.5 million monthly visitors.

“In 2021, as people getting used to shopping online, there are also improvements in other categories such as beauty, Korean fashion, and sports, especially at certain times,” Ardi said.

Next year, the company is to launch several initiatives, including strengthening the Online-to-Offline (O2O) shopping experience through the iStyle.id Offline Store such as Marhen J x iStyle for K-Fashion located at Lotte Shopping Avenue, K-Point. which is a Korean Convenience Store located at Wisma 46, and other offline stores.

“This is necessary for customers can see directly the products sold on iStyle and can shop online and offline easily,” Ardi added.

Was founded in 2017, this site has adopted the mall in mall concept which provides alternative solutions for shopping products from Lotte Shopping Avenue, LotteMart grocery store, Planet Sports, Kidz Station, Lejel Home Shopping, K-Mall, Kinokuniya, and Best Denki. The various brands that are partnered with, move shopping habits at malls into one application and can be accessed anytime.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

Mandiri Capital Indonesia Channels Follow on Funding to Crowde’s Series B

The CVC backed by Bank Mandiri, Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI) channels follow on funding to Crowde’s Series B. Based on the sources, the latest round of this agriculture fintech lending startup also involves Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Another thing, this funding also involves the business unit of Gunung Sewu Group conglomerate, PT Great Giant Pineapple (GGP), which is a subsidiary of Great Giant Foods (GGF). In general note, GGP is the largest pineapple canner producer in the world which has exported more than 15,000 containers to 60 countries.

This funding news has been confirmed by MCI’s CEO, Eddi Danusaputro. “It is true, we are doing follow on series B funding to Crowde,” he said through a short message to DailySocial.id.

According to the data submitted to regulators, the company has raised fresh funds of $9 million or around 127.2 billion Rupiah in the ongoing round.

Previously, MCI had participated by leading Crowde’s pre-series A funding of $1 million or around 14 billion Rupiah in 2019. At the same time, Bank Mandiri also participated as an institutional lenderThrough Crowde amounting to 100 billion Rupiah.

Currently, Crowde has disbursed loans ranging from IDR 8 million to IDR 2 billion with an interest rate of 6%-18%. Crowde also recorded 97.89% TKB90. In addition to Bank Mandiri, Crowde has also collaborated with other institutional lenders, such as Bank BJB, BPR Supra, and Saison Indonesia to strengthen its credit distribution structure.

High potential yet hazardous

In the DSResearch report with Crowde entitled “Driving the Growth of Agriculture-Technology Ecosystem in Indonesia”, the aquaculture sector is included in the business sector with a fairly high risk. This is due to business development in this sector is hindered by a number of obstacles, such as access to capital, financial literacy, and the ability and knowledge of farmers to cultivate.

Capital distribution in agriculture, forestry, and fishery / DSResearch and Crowde

According to reports, the educational background and low financial literacy of the farmers are one of the inhibiting factors for cultivation. Crowde stated that 78% of active household farmers in Indonesia do not meet bank capital requirements.

In addition, internet penetration among farmers is quite low. Based on BPS data in 2018, only 4.5 million farmers were connected to the internet out of a total of 27 million business players in agriculture.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Maudy Ayunda Chips In to Segari’s Series A Funding

Segari online grocery startup announced public figure Maudy Ayunda as one of the angel investors participating in its series A round. The fundraising was previously announced in early September 2021 of $16 million led by Go-Ventures.

SIG, Alfamart, Gunung Sewu Group (one of the largest agricultural and food groups in Indonesia), and Intrinity Capital (affiliated with Gulaku) also participated in this round. In addition, the ranks of investors in its previous stage, including Beenext, AC Ventures, and Saison Capital.

Both Maudy Ayundy and Segari’s Co-founder, Farand Anugerah know each other, it is due to their educational background that took place in the United States.

“When we were studying in America, we wanted to return to Indonesia and make a positive impact by using technology. When I told the Segari team’s dream to develop e-grocery services, Maudy expressed a very positive response,” Farand said in an official statement, Tuesday (19/10).

Maudy Ayunda added, “Before decided to invest, I was already a Segari customer and I immediately became a fan since I always get fresh products and directly come from farmers. Ordering products is also very easy and delivered directly to the house.”

She also said, Segari’s impact in helping local farmers to earn a fair income from the products they sell encouraged her to invest more in Segari. “I think this is a business model that can be the future of the Indonesian e-grocery industry.”

The company is committed to simplifying complex distribution chains by leveraging technology and empowering communities as more efficient sales and distribution partners. Thus, farmers can continue to sell their crops at a more fair price.

Segari has a network of farmer partners in Java and Sumatra and utilizes a decentralized warehouse system to maintain product quality in the A+ grade category. Also, cooperate with sales partners to deliver goods within 15 hours of ordering.

Within just one year of operation, Segari’s business is thriving. The company managed to boost its performance and rose over 20 times for the number of customers and revenue. They offered various products, ranging from fruit, vegetables, meat, basic necessities, to ready-to-cook ingredients.

Instead only using e-commerce platform, the company has a social commerce service called Mitra Segari. This service is to target housewives and SMEs to open an online supermarket business from home and earn additional income. Farand explained that partners only need to have a smartphone and WhatsApp to be able to sell.

“In addition to these opportunities, Mitra Segari also received additional assistance in the form of marketing materials and guidance from the Segari team to continue developing their business.”

Online grocery market size

The online grocery industry has fierce competition, however, there’s still a space for growth because its penetration is still concentrated in big cities.

A report from Statista said, last year the online grocery market share in this country only reached 0.3%, it is predicted that it will increase by 20 basis points to 0.5% in 2022. The pandemic is said to be one of the main factors that triggered the increase in the popularity of online grocery services among consumers.

Based on the data, a further impact of the pandemic apart from changing consumer online buying behavior, is a change in consumer mindset in shopping. “Concerned about the economic impact of the pandemic, many Indonesian consumers are becoming more budget conscious. Also, it’s visible that consumers are making basic necessities and health purchase as the priority during the pandemic,” the report said.

However, e-grocery platforms in this country is still at its premature stage. In terms of coverage, almost all services are still focused on tier-1 cities. The biggest players like HappyFresh covers only the Greater Jakarta area, Surabaya, and several other big cities. Meanwhile, newcomers such as Segari still serve a limited area in Jadetabek.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

East Ventures Leads 233 Billion Rupiah Funding to Edtech Startup Geniebook

Singapore-based edtech startup Geniebook obtained series A funding of $16.6 million or around 233 billion Rupiah led by East Ventures through Growth Fund and Lightspeed Ventures Partners. This funding will be used to expand team members.

A series of prominent angel investors include John Danner (Dunce Capital), Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini (Unacademy), Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal (Snapdeal), Alvin Tse (Xiaomi), Linh Pham Giang (Hocmai), as well as several senior executives from the leading companies in Southeast Asia, such as Gojek, Grab, and Shopee, were also participated in this funding.

Previously, Geniebook had secured a $1.1 million pre-series A funding round from Apricot Capital in 2019.

For a general note, Geniebook was founded in 2017 by Neo Zhizong and Alicia Cheong. This platform offers various online learning products through personalization by combining blended learning experiences according to student needs. The subjects provided include English, mathematics, and natural sciences (IPA).

The company claims to have achieved more than 2000% revenue growth with 150,000 user base in Southeast Asia. Currently, the Singapore-based company will continue to expand its business regionally in Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Geniebook’s CEO & Co-founder, Neo Zhizhong said he would scale the team for a number of strategic positions, from curriculum, engineering, product, to growth to maximize the online learning experience. To date, Geniebook already has 350 employees worldwide.

“We will continue to innovate on existing Geniebook products. For example, GenieSmart or personalized worksheets with AI, GenieClass or teaching and learning spaces through online classes, and GenieAsk which allows students to chat and receive help from experienced teachers in real-time,” he said in an official statement.

Geniebook’s COO & Co-founder, Alicia Cheong said the company is ready to take the leap to the next step with the extra team, product innovation, and a strong focus on providing a more personalized learning experience supported by technology.

Meanwhile, East Ventures’ Managing Partner, Roderick Purwana revealed, the edtech platform played an important role and accelerated the offering of their solutions to users in line with the Covid-19 pandemic situation in its second year. His team also discovered that Geniebook has shown a strong appeal in foreign markets, including in Vietnam, which has experienced growth of up to three times compared to last year.

Edtech momentum

Various edtech players in Southeast Asia continue to benefit from the Covid-19 situation as a momentum to accelerate product and business growth going forward. Especially in Indonesia, face-to-face teaching and learning activities (KBM) in new schools have been opened gradually.

On a separate occasion, East Ventures’ Co-founder and Managing Partner, Willson Cuaca revealed how the pandemic has accelerated digital adoption and boosted investment in Indonesia’s digital sector. Healthtech and edtech are two of the digital sectors playing a significant role since the pandemic first took place.

Sumber: e-Conomy SEA Report 2020 — Source: e-Conomy SEA Report 2020

This is also reflected in the increase in services from the East Ventures portfolio, Ruangguru, with an increase of users up to 50%. In addition, Willson highlighted how the pandemic has boosted the investment climate in Indonesia from previously $3.4 million in 2020 to $4.9 million in the third quarter of 2021.

“This number was identified as consumer behavior changed to digital-based or online behavior. All investors became more aggressive and optimistic because digital acceleration happened on top of everything else,” Willson said.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

Modalku Debuts in Thailand, Securing Early Stage Funding from 500 Tuktuk

Funding Societies (known as Modalku in Indonesia) announced its operational debut in Thailand, after obtaining a crowdfunding license from the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February 2021. Simultaneously, the company secured early stage funding with an undisclosed nominal from 500 TukTuks.

Apart from Modalku, another fintech company pursuing on the same opportunity in the regional arena is Investree. In addition, Danacita has also been available in Thailand.

500 TukTuk is a venture capital part of 500 Startups which focuses on early-stage funding for startups across Thailand and CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam).

Funding Societies Thailand’s Country Head, Varun Bhandari said, the company’s vision is to always serve credit-worthy SMEs while growing wealth for investors. “[..] We believe that this will pave the way for Funding Societies to become the first choice digital lender for SMEs,” he said in an official statement.

500 TukTuk’s Partner, Krating Poonpol added, fintech is one of the rising industries with exponential growth in recent years. In Southeast Asia, there are many successful fintech startups due to many different factors including its large market size, population size, established financial institutions, and businesses that are open to new technologies and innovations.

They discover an opportunity for Funding Societies to grow exponentially with its capacity to solve the challenges faced by SMEs and startups in the region. “We strongly believe that Funding Societies can strengthen the Thai economy by offering solutions for entrepreneurs in Thailand,” he said.

Since the launching in Thailand, Funding Societies has funded local Thai SMEs and startups of up to more than THB100 million (approximately 42 billion Rupiah) at affordable prices, with no bad credit. Also, partnering with Central Retail, NocNoc, Freshket, and Accrevo as institutional lenders.

Funding Societies offer short-term financing to businesses, connecting them to retail and institutional clients seeking attractive alternative investment opportunities. In Thailand, there are more than 3 million SMEs operating in various industries, and more than 60% of them have experienced declining income due to the pandemic.

Many of these SMEs have no access to adequate funding from traditional financial institutions. As small businesses become the backbone of the economy, Funding Societies is committed to bridging the SME financing gap in the region by providing flexible loan products to meet working capital and expansion needs such as invoice financing, PO financing, project financing and term loans of up to THB 50 million (approx. 21 billion Rupiah).

The Modalku Group was founded in 2015 to address the S$300 billion SME funding gap, with the strong belief that every eligible SME deserves funding. Over the past six years, the company has disbursed over 58 billion (over 21 trillion Rupiah) THB through 4.8 million loans to more than 70,000 SMEs throughout the Southeast Asia region.

Its default rate during the pandemic remains less than 2%, supported by an AI-led credit scoring model. The platform has been trusted by regional partners such as Lazada, Shopee, CIMB, and FoodPanda, to fund SMEs in the supply chain, such as suppliers, distributors or merchants.

Southeast Asia SME market

Based on a study by the Asian Development Bank entitled “Asia Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Monitor 2020”, MSMEs accounted for an average of 97% of all types/scale companies, 69% of the total workforce, and 41% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) during 2010-2019.

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 exacerbated the high tense global trade and economic uncertainty in the region. In many ways, MSMEs hold the key to economic recovery in Asia’s developing countries.

Indonesia is a Southeast Asia’s country with the largest number of MSMEs in the region at 64 million, followed by Thailand with 3.5 million, and the Philippines with 1.2 million MSME units.

MSMEs are a major and important force to drive the Southeast Asian economy. The number is 97% of the business world and absorbs 97% of the national workforce from 2010 to 2019 period. MSMEs also contribute an average of 41% of GDP for each country in the same period.

However, there are still many business players have no access to financing. Many of them are considered ineligible to borrow from banks with no credit history.

Fintech can make it easier for MSMEs to optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of business operations, as well as make it easier for MSMEs with no sufficient requirements to access banking financing, in accessing working capital financing.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

OnlinePajak Claims Unicorn Status, Is that How Big the Market Size?

Tax management focused SaaS startup for business “OnlinePajak” claim its “unicorn” status. It was directly mentioned by the executives at a media meeting, as quoted by Katadata.

Previously, news about the unicorn status emerged from CBInsights. However, it is known that currently (14/10) CBInsights has removed the name OnlinePajak from the list.

We have tried to ask related parties on this matter to the company, including the company’s latest funding round [if any]. Until this publication, we have received no feedback. We tried asking one of the investors, however, there’s no comment on the unicorn status.

Based on data submitted to the regulator, OnlinePajak’s last funding round was the Series C round in July 2021. Tencent and a series of investors poured around $12 million, raise the company’s valuation to $179 million — 1/10th of what it claims to be a unicorn startup.

The company’s also backed by popular investors such as Alpha JWC Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, Endeavor Catalyst, and several others.

We actually have included OnlinePajak on the Centaur list since last year, which marks the company’s milestone reaching a valuation of over $100 million.

OnlinePajak service

Currently, OnlinePajak services are divided into three main product categories: Invoice, Payroll, and Others. In the Invoice sub-service, there are various features such as calculating/depositing/reporting VAT and PPh, making withholding books, invoices, NPWP validation, and others.

While Payroll includes payroll features, PPh 21 tax, salary calculations, and slips. While in the Other category, there are channels for payment, reporting, including for personal taxes. Currently they also operate the TaxPay service to facilitate the tax payment process.

In order to facilitate users, in addition to portals on the web, OnlinePajak presents an application on Android which has been downloaded by around 10 thousand+ users with 3.7 rating. Another application that also helps accommodate tax needs is HiPajak, on Google Play the platform has been downloaded by 50 thousand+ users and gets the same rating.

Another innovation launched by local startups to make it easier for businesses and individuals to manage taxes is Pajak.io. Its main service is based on a chatbot called “Bee-Jak”, ready to answer and assist various complaints regarding tax reporting and payment. Meanwhile, other SaaS services that focus on HR and Payroll also generally have the capability to perform tax calculations, such as those provided by Catapa, Fast-8, and Mekari.

Statistics comparison of OnlinePajak and KlikPajak by Mekari / SimilarWeb

Market size

Based on data compiled by Fortune Business Insight, the market size of tax management software has reached $5.24 billion in 2018 globally. The number is projected to increase to $11.19 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 10.4%.

Basically the nature of the service helps businesses or companies to do tax management. However, in Indonesia likewise, all processes can actually be done independently. Even among corporations, they usually have a special consultant who focuses on tax advocacy.

The MSME segment may be the main target, although the government the tax collection process considered this circle has received “privileges”, both in terms of a simple process and a relatively lower value. According to data from the Directorate General of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance in 2019, the final income tax contribution of MSMEs was only around Rp7.5 trillion or around 1.1% of the total PPh in the same year at Rp711.2 trillion.

In order to overcome this, several applications that focus on recording MSME finances also feature a tax calculation function. Even the KemenkopUKM also presents the LAMIKRO application that can be used and downloaded for free.

OnlinePajak unicorn status

With the size of the market [specifically on tax calculation software], it is actually interesting to know OnlinePajak’s current valuation has reached $1 billion. As its business model accommodates a fairly niche market. However, it has the potential to target a wider product segment starting from the pain point around taxes – to being an end-to-end SaaS for businesses.

In general note, for OnlinePajak’s business line (tax payment), the company has appointed Mulia Dewi as CEO. While the Founder Charles Guinot currently serves as Group CEO. It is possible that there is a wider service segment the company is currently preparing to reach potential for a larger market share.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

Blibli and BCA to Launch “Co-Brand” Credit Card

Blibli and BCA launched the BCA Blibli Mastercard co-branded credit card to increase online shopping transactions on e-commerce platforms. The whole process is run through the Blibli app via the “KK BCA Blibli” thumbnail icon.

BCA’s Director, Santoso explained that the pandemic has changed consumers’ daily shopping habits to digital platforms. It will continue during the post-pandemic, and bank should anticipate this to remain relevant.

“Prior to this co-brand, we already have a collaboration with Blibli and the progress is always showing improvement. Blibli meets various consumer needs, we also see BlibliMart’s progress showing a significant improvement. We want to be present in various consumer needs,” he said during a virtual press conference, Monday (11/10).

Blibli’s Co-founder & CEO, Kusumo Martanto added, “This is the first collaboration in the Indonesian e-commerce sector to utilize Mastercard Sonic technology to ensure quality security and transaction convenience. “At the same time strengthening the synergy between BCA and Blibli in presenting innovative solutions,” he said.

The BCA Blibli Mastercard Credit Card targets Blibli users who are familiar with digital shopping. The submission process is completely online in the Blibli application through the “KK BCA Blibli” thumbnail icon. If you already a BCA debit customer and have BCA credit card, it is enough for the customer to provide the previous credit card number, to be directly sent to your home address or contact the BCA call center.

If you already a debit customer but don’t have a credit card, the customer needs to prepare personal data, including ID card, NPWP, selfie photo, and signature. “We make sure the process is seamless as we target consumers who shop at Blibli and used to shopping online,” BCA’s EVP, I Ketut Alam Wangsawijaya added.

As an added value, this co-branded credit card offers various forms of bonuses when shopping at Blibli. Among them, customers will automatically receive a welcome bonus of up to Rp650 thousand, free annual fee for the first year, cashback for every transaction inside and outside the Blibli application in the form of a Blipay balance.

“Blipay does not have an expiry date, therefore, once consumers want to shop at Blibli they can use Blipay balance. It can be a value for consumers because there are various discounts and multiple cashbacks. Although this is not the first time, we still want to provide the best,” Ketut said.

Previously, BCA’s digital bank unit “blu” had established a strategic partnership with Blibli. In its early day, this collaboration allows Blibli users to open blu accounts, e-commerce payments, and transact via in-app payments.

Facilitate credit card ownership

Ketut continued, the credit card business has slowed down since the pandemic. However, his team is optimistic for indicators of recovery, marked by the tourism sector which sttarted to reviving. This sector is the largest contributor to transactions in the credit card business.

“BCA credit card transaction value per September 2021 is to reach Rp42 trillion. This is a positive tren after the second wave of Covid-19 in July because some offline stores were closed until August.”

Bank Indonesia recorded a credit card transaction volume of 157.01 million times as of July 2021. Year on year (yoy) this number decreased compared to the same position last year of 164.95 million times. Likewise, in terms of number, it is down 7.81% yoy from Rp144.84 trillion to Rp133.52 trillion.

Before Blibli and BCA, there have been several similar collaborations between banking and digital platforms to boost online transactions. Among them, Shopee with Bank Mandiri, also Traveloka with Bank Mandiri and BRI.

Banks are getting interested to online platforms as they generate high traffic and transactions. Shopee, for example, according to iPrice, is a marketplace platform with the highest average visits of up to 90 million times last year.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

iSeller Secures 120 Billion Rupiah Funding, to Expand Business Coverage

POS developer startup iSeller announced a pre-series B funding worth of IDR 120 billion led by AppWorks and Openspace Ventures. Previous investors, Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI) and Indogen Capital, also participated in this round.

The fresh money will be used for business expansion to 50 cities in Indonesia, accelerate merchant acquisitions, and strengthen collaboration with important players, such as Grab. It is expected to boost the company’s performance up to 500% from the previous achievement.

iSeller‘s Founder and CEO, Jimmy Petrus said, compared to the Series A round last year, the company managed to achieve impressive growth this year, which is more than 300% year-on-year of merchant acquisitions and annual revenue.

“[..] Through the latest round, we are committed to continuously creating new innovations and updating products, technology, and infrastructure to be ready to reach millions of MSMEs in the process of accelerating digital transformation in Indonesia. We believe that the iSeller solution and ecosystem holistically will be able to take MSMEs to the next level,” Jimmy said in an official statement, Wednesday (13/10).

AppWorks’ Founder and Chairman, Jamie Lin said, “In just a few years, iSeller has been able to drastically improve MSME business efficiency and establish an excellent reputation. He assessed that iSeller has enormous potential to become the market leader for omnichannel-based business POS platforms.

Apart from iSeller, other AppWorks’ portfolios in Indonesia include HarukaEdu, Fabelio, and InfraDigital.

“[..] The dedication of iSeller’s founders make them incredibly powerful in the SaaS business, where continuous product innovation is required. We expect strong growth in the Point Of Sales sector and omnichannel-based business platform and this is already reflected in iSeller’s growth and performance,” Lin said.

Was founded in 2017, iSeller provides an easy-to-use and comprehensive POS system solution for merchants to sell on any platform – online, offline, marketplace. The company has ambitions to become a super app merchant in Indonesia, the same spirit with GoBiz, Gojek’s service unit.

“Using this funding, we are targeting 10x growth in 2022 by expanding our reach in Indonesia. As well as sharpening focus to provide solutions for retail, F&B, service, and lifestyle business lines, especially those that rely on the e-commerce market as their main source of income,” iSeller’s CCO, Kevin Ventura added.

The company recently launched a new product, iSeller Go for small-scale MSMEs to sell through online stores or combine offline sales through POS by utilizing existing technology like smartphones. Next, Marketplace Integration is a solution for business people who want to sell on various marketplace platforms without any hassle because sellers can manage all of their marketplace accounts through one iSeller web-admin.

It is said that there are hundreds of merchants have taken advantage of and implemented this feature in their business. Previously, the company was selected to be the official WhatsApp Business Partner in Indonesia to enter the social and chat commerce segment, the next generation of e-commerce services. “In the near future, iSeller will soon launch several new innovations in collaboration with Facebook,” Kevin said.

Currently, iSeller has been available in 10 cities outside Jabodetabek, such as Bandung, Bali, Medan, Surabaya, and Batam. The company claims to have proceed over a million transactions per month across all channels. The solution has been utilized by more than 60 thousand business players, including several premium businesses such as SOGO, OMNILUXE, MOI, Damn! I love Indonesia, IT Gallery, United Bike, Sinarmas Insurance, MOVI, HMNS, ASHTA, Lemonilo, and Peripera.

Omnichannel solution

This omnichannel-based solution is actually quite relevant. The research entitled “2020 Ecommerce Fulfillment Trends Report” revealed that 86% of the respondents, who are e-commerce merchants, sell their products on more than one channel. Some of them also sell through social media. In the future, 69% of merchants plan to continue to increase online sales channels.

In addition to iSeller, there have been several startups offered similar solutions, two of which are Clodeo and Jubelio.

According to a report by DSResearch with Mandiri Capital Indonesia, it was stated that there are three main problems often faced by SMEs in Indonesia related to Financial, Operational, and Expansion. SaaS service models like the one offered by iSeller have proven to contribute to business improvement, resolving these issues in an agile way.

–
Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian