Jenius Starts Targeting SMEs, Introducing Two New Services

Aiming to support new business owners, Jenius launched two new services, the Jenius business account, and the Bisniskit application. Rolled out for free, the application offers some features to new business owners or SME players.

“Through the spirit and process of co-creation, Jenius continues to get ideas, input, and insights from digital-savvy. From this process, we find that there is an aspiration to develop a bigger business. Jenius is here for business needs, therefore, those digital-savvy can easily manage their businesses.” Head of BTPN’s Digital Banking Business Product, Waasi Sumintardja said.

To date, Jenius has recorded a total of 90 thousand users. The Jenius business and Bisniskit accounts can only be used by small business owners. Companies or business owners who are classified as large and already have their own company accounts, cannot take advantage of both applications.

“Unlike the other POS platforms, our Jenius business and Bisniskit accounts are free of charge. In addition, all new users and those previously registered with Jenius can take advantage of this application for free for a lifetime,” Waasi said.

A complete integrated feature

The Jenius business account has several excellent features. First, a “Send It”, menu to make it easier to send money; second, an “In & Out” menu for transaction history; and the third, “mCard” virtual debit card for online transactions.

In addition, users also get $Cashtag and a new account number to send and receive money with Jenius Contacts, which functions to store phone numbers and e-mails for business purposes. Until now, the Jenius Bisnis application has been used by users for daily transactions around 2-3 times per day.

Meanwhile, the Bisniskit application from Jenius is presented to simplify business inquiries for users. Bisniskit has two main menus, shop and cashier.

Through the Shop menu, users can manage their business by using unique features, such as “Dashboard” which provides information and current business or store conditions, “Products” to record products and browse stocks, “Expenses” to record, schedule, and view expense history, “Customers” to store and view customer data, and “Shop Settings” to manage stores and provide access to employees.

“In this application, Bisniskit can be used by 10 people. It is expected that the new business owners can employ family or close relatives to facilitate their business going digital,” Waasi added.

Previously, Youtap has launched a similar service targeting SMEs who want to adopt the digital business. What makes Youtap different is the platform can use QR Code and provide SKU up to 2 thousand more to users.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

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Shopee Offers Integrated Fulfillment Service for Shop Partners

Shopee e-commerce now offers a new feature to merchants. A similar concept with Tokopedia’s TokoCabang, Shopee launched its “Dikelola Shopee” service.

As an e-commerce service that is experiencing positive growth in Indonesia, Shopee is now organized its own warehouse to accelerate the packaging and delivery process of customer’s goods. Utilizing existing resources, these resources can now be utilized by merchants as business support services.

Shopee Indonesia’s Director Handhika Jahja revealed to DailySocial, Dikelola Shopee offers fast and reliable services with a 24-hour security system in the warehouse for Shopee Xpress brand partners and sellers. It is claimed that the average order is sent 2 hours after the user completes the transaction.

“With the current operational team working 24/7, we rely on this service as a form of maximizing the order process at Shopee,” Handhika said.

It was not mentioned how many warehouses Shopee currently has. However, managing this process in Shopee’s own warehouse certainly eases the process. JD.ID, Blibli, and Lazada have also worked on this method. Meanwhile, Tokopedia, through TokoCabang, chose to form a partnership with PT Bintang Digital Internasional under the brand Haistar.

Supporting sellers and brands

In addition, Shopee’s newest service is also provide options for reliable logistics options, enabling users to make efficient shipments. In a form of logistics marketplace, some other players have also indulged e-commerce merchants with similar features. For example, what Bukalapak did through BukaPengadaan. There are also startups that specifically target this segment, one of which is Shipper.

In addition to offering products and daily needs, electronics to groceries, Dikelola Shopee which can be accessed on a special channel also provides Shop Voucher category that sells various products from shoes, health, and beauty products.

“Currently, we cannot mention the number of registered merchants and partners. However, we can ensure that the leading feature Dikelola Shopee service is to optimize the potential of our partners’ products in order to achieve maximum sales results through our commitment in the form of this logistics service,” Handhika concluded.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

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Warung Pintar Is Now a Part of GrabMart Merchants

Warung Pintar announces a collaboration with Grab in order to make it easier for Grab consumers to shop for their daily needs through warung by Juragan Warung Pintar (as the shop owner is called) through GrabMart. This collaboration has been established since the end of June 2020 and there are dozens of stalls in Jakarta and its surroundings registered as partners.

In fact, Grab already has its own unit to manage the shop, GrabKios. It is a service formed through its acquisition of Kudo. Meanwhile, Kudo and Warung Pintar have been East Ventures’ portfolios since their debut.

Warung Pintar’s Co-Founder and CEO Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro explained that soft drinks, food groceries, household items, and personal care are some of the categories most people sought after at the shop.

“With the shifting trend, where people feel safer when shopping online, we are trying to reach users and fulfill their needs digitally through GrabMart,” he said in an official statement, Wednesday (9/16).

This initiation was first taken after seeing the fact that at the beginning of this pandemic as many as 93% of Juragan had experienced a decrease in income by 28%. However, after entering GrabMart, their income is claimed to increase by 50% with a value of more than IDR50 million per month.

“Aside from that, each shop has experienced an increase in the number of subscribers between 200-800 customers per month.”

GrabMart alone is an expansion of GrabFood service amid pandemic for merchants who want to expand their business by selling fresh products, raw food, snacks, frozen food, to personal needs. For delivery using the GrabBike driver fleet. Compete directly with Gojek’s GoMart.

“We hope that this collaboration with Warung Pintar will help drive the digitalization of traditional businesses that will accelerate economic recovery during the pandemic and ensure more people can benefit from the digital economy,” Grab Indonesia GrabFood’s Head of Marketing, Hadi Surya Koe said.

In acquiring merchants, Grab does not only engage micro-entrepreneurs but also enterprise groceries and online startups. During the pandemic, Grab has digitized more than 185 thousand SMEs and 32 thousand traditional traders in hundreds of cities in Indonesia into its digital ecosystem.

Agung expects, by the end of this year, at least 400 more stalls can be added to GrabMart, located in Jabodetabek, Bandung, and Surabaya. Currently, Warung Pintar has 47 thousand stalls that are incorporated into its network.

“Since the beginning, stalls have always been proven to support Indonesia’s economy and hopefully the stalls can grow as we grow together with warungs. In times like these, our solidarity is encouraged and the solution is to proudly use products and services made in Indonesia,” he concluded.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

AWS Academy and ITSB Host a Cloud Computing Training in BSD City

Bandung Institute of Science Technology (ITSB) has announced to participate in the AWS Academy, a cloud computing learning program held by Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday (25/8). With a vision as an Eco-Industry Oriented University, ITSB has an objective to deliver graduates who can fulfill the industrial community demand in the era of digital globalization, one of which is through this cloud computing training.

Such training is considered capable to help Indonesia to prepare superior human resources (HR) for the 4.0. Industrial Revolution. This is not only to deliver new technological innovations in various fields but also to encourage many companies to perform the digital transformation in order to survive and continue to develop. The Ministry of Communication & Informatics (Kemkominfo) predicts that Indonesia will need 9 million digital talents by 2030. It is one of the reasons ITSB takes the opportunity to collaborate with AWS Academy to answer the industry’s needs for cloud computing technology.

Providing online and offline learning system

The cloud computing training is to begin in the 4th quarter of 2020 using an online learning system. Meanwhile, offline face-to-face learning is planned to start in early 2021 at one of the ITSB locations at Digital Hub BSD City. Apart from ITSB and AWS, this learning program is also managed by Enigma Camp, a company engaged in the IT bootcamp and IT talent management, with experience in providing Talent as a Service, Training as a Service, and Job Connector Service programs.

“Today industry needs a lot of IT workers with cloud expertise, therefore we are proud to join ITSB helping its students, other university students, and the public in further study on this field. With AWS Academy, students will be equipped with the practical skills needed by the time they start a career in cloud computing,” AWS Academy Global Team Lead, Scott McKinley said.

The AWS Academy curriculum is developed and managed specifically by experts from AWS to keep up with the latest demand presented in the community. The study will later be provided by experts from ITSB who have been accredited by AWS, therefore, they can help students to be able to operate AWS technology. Through this cloud computing training, trainees can take classes and get certification from ITSB and AWS Academy to prepare them for the fast-growing cloud computing industry.

“By using the curriculum developed by AWS Academy, we will add cloud computing material to the educational curriculum of ITSB students and other participants to prepare them to become a cloud-competent workforce. Learning materials from AWS Academy include AWS Academy Cloud Foundations, AWS Academy Cloud Architecting, AWS Academy Cloud Developing, and AWS Academy Machine Learning Foundations. Each packet will take a span of 20-40 hours. All classes, practices, and work projects are handled directly by teachers who have certification from the AWS Academy,” ITSB Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Ir. Ari Darmawan Pasek, MSc said.

Presenting Added value for the development of the integrated smart city in BSD City

The presence of AWS Academy in BSD City is considered to provide added value to the development of an integrated smart city developed by Sinar Mas Land in BSD City. “We realize that Amazon’s development in Southeast Asia is in line with the demand of our country, from the availability of labor to the demand for more sophisticated technology. Therefore, Sinar Mas Land provides all the facilities for this development in BSD City, which is now transforming into the first integrated smart digital city. The existence of Amazon through AWS Academy will certainly enrich our digital ecosystem while providing added value to AWS Academy participants. Digital Hub, BSD City, will support AWS Academy with the various facilities and required infrastructure,” Project Leader of Sinar Mas Land Digital Hub, Irawan Harahap said.

Currently, Sinar Mas Land has started the transformation of its largest independent city, BSD City, into the first integrated smart city. Sinar Mas Land is also developing a Digital Hub in the BSD City area. Digital Hub is an area of 26 hectares dedicated to startups, communities, educational institutions, and multinational companies focused on the digital and technology industry. Along with its development, the Digital Hub is home for innovation development center to several global companies and today welcome the AWS Academy.

Disclosure: This article is sponsored content endorsed by Sinar Mas Land

Sinar Mas Land and Mitbana Develop a Smart-Concept TOD in BSD City

Sinar Mas Land returns with a new development plan for BSD City by starting a partnership with Mitbana Pte Ltd, a joint venture company between Surbana Jurong and Mitsubishi Corporation. This collaboration aims to develop a transit-oriented development (TOD) with a smart and sustainable concept in BSD City.

Established since March 2019, Mitbana is known as a company that focuses on TOD and city-scale development in Southeast Asia and South Asia countries. This collaboration between Sinar Mas Land and Mitbana will support an integrated TOD-based development that is based on current urban trends, particularly to the current post-pandemic situation. Through this development, the infrastructure created is expected to be able to support the Indonesian government in managing good connectivity for residents and commuters in Jakarta and Tangerang.

In developing BSD City as an Integrated Smart City

Sinar Mas Land started the construction of BSD City in the 1980s until now, it continues to grow with a variety of facilities ranging from commercial centers, schools, shopping centers, hospitals, hotels, to convention centers. This collaboration will accelerate the development of residential, commercial, and transportation areas in the city. Michael Widjaja, Sinar Mas Land’s Group Chief Executive Officer said, “We welcome the collaboration with Mitbana to advance BSD City into a smart city that is integrated, connected, and accessible from various destinations. Through this partnership, Mitbana will become our largest development partner in BSD City. We hope that this collaboration will provide added value for the residents of BSD City and its surroundings and this project can also become a reference for developing TOD in Indonesia.”

In terms of developing an integrated smart city, BSD City has indeed developed several digital-oriented projects such as the Digital Hub and cloud computing training held at ITSB university. In addition, BSD City has been trusted to host several well-known technology companies, such as the Apple Developer Academy (which is run by Apple with local universities) and Grab (an online transportation company from Singapore).

“Indonesia has brilliant TOD potential in the future as well as a great opportunity for Mitbana. We are passionate about realizing our common vision to become a leading urban development platform through sustainable smart city development. As the world is struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic, Mitbana is looking for relevant methods to answer people’s needs and desires for the environment in the future. Therefore, we are working with Sinar Mas Land to define and provide holistic urban solutions to support communities and improve the business in Indonesia. This development will be divided into several phases which will be presented soon.” Mitbana’s Chief Executive Officer, Gareth Wong added.

In continuing the previous Sinar Mas Land’s strategic partnerships

Mitbana’s collaboration with Sinar Mas Land was performed in line with the previous collaborations between Mitsubishi Corporation, Sinar Mas Land, and Surbana Jurong. This collaboration happens through the development of The Zora area in BSD City, which is an exclusive residential zone that carries smart-home technology. Not only in BSD City, but Sinar Mas Land has also collaborated with Citra Mas to appoint Surbana Jurong in developing the concept of the master plan for the Eco Digital Project in Nongsa, Batam, Riau Islands.

As a leading trading company from Japan, Mitsubishi Corporation has experience from various sectors. Mitsubishi Corporation has a comprehensive Urban Development Group in-house team in real estate, infrastructure, leasing, and trade banking worldwide. The developer group has a mission to support large-scale and value-added urban development for social and environmental needs.

Hiroshi Nakanishi, General Manager of Mitsubishi Corporation in Singapore and a member of the Mitbana board said, “As Mitsubishi Corporation, we are pleased to continue to work with Sinar Mas Land through Mitbana in the construction of BSD City. We believe in Indonesia’s development potential which continues to motivate us to provide our best products and technology in this project.”

Disclosure: This article is a sponsored content endorsed by Sinar Mas Land

Burn Less Money, Bukalapak Is on The Right Track to Profitability

Bukalapak sets foot in the right position as a sustainable company and towards profitability as a local unicorn compared to its competitors. The company’s business sources are said to be dominated by outside first-tier cities, through its business units, Buka Procurement, Bukalapak Partners, and virtual products.

In Bukalapak’s performance review for the second quarter of this year, Bukalapak’s President, Teddy Oetomo, explained the total processing value (TPV) growth for almost 400% compared to the first quarter of 2018. It is claimed that more than 50% came from transactions outside the first-tier cities.

Related to EBITDA, it was said to increase by more than 60% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. The company’s burn rate is still in a rational rate. This means that the company continues to make efforts to acquire new users by providing promotions, but in rational numbers. In terms of growth, market share is said to remain stable even during the pandemic.

“Our main key is healthy growth that is in line with the industry and what we have done for 18 months is to continue to increase monetization, rationalize spending so that our income can be more robust,” he explained during a virtual press conference, Friday (11/9).

In terms of the burn-money strategy, Teddy mentioned that promotion is not a bad thing. All newly opened stores must use this strategy. The thing is, too much promotion can be an issue. He said a business considered successful when it can provide the services that users need.

“The key is in added value. Promotions can accelerate growth, but if you are not disciplined you will definitely get headaches. [..] There are our peers who maybe what they spent in that month, is enough for us for a year. ”

Bukalapak CEO Rachmat Kaimuddin also emphasized, “Not all businesses only focused on growth. The solution is to provide added value to encourage the company’s sustainability. ”

Teddy continued, with the company’s focus on Mitra Bukalapak – in line with the plan for the next five years – is in accordance with the current conditions. That e-commerce services are really needed by consumers who are in lower-tier cities, not in the first tier.

“Since 3-4 years ago, we started to make partners in Bukalapak because they need financial inclusion. People just come to the shop to pay for virtual products. In Indonesia alone, there are 5 million stalls. ”

Bukalapak’s main business contributor

On this occasion, also participated in the officials of each Bukalapak’s main business. Regarding Mitra Bukalapak, in the last year, the number of stalls and individuals joining has tripled to a total of around 5 million partners.

The majority of them are still concentrated in Java with 4.5 million partners, then Sumatra (550 thousand partners), East Indonesia (226 thousand partners), and Kalimantan (128 thousand partners). This expansion is supported by additional wholesale stock distribution coverage to more than 50 cities, working with national and local distributors to ensure the availability of goods for partners.

In terms of payment innovation, transactions at Mitra stalls using the QRIS payment method increased by more than 50%. “We have also launched products based on financial inclusion, therefore, our hope goes with product diversification in the shop partners can get more turnover and become agents of change,” Howard Gani, SVP of Mitra Bukalapak said.

Virtual products are the second flagship product at Bukalapak. During the pandemic, the average growth of virtual products reached more than 60% compared to before the pandemic period. This increase occurred for pulses and data packages, bill payments, streaming vouchers, study vouchers for online courses, and gift card purchases.

The company alone provides more than 30 types of digital products, which are available on the marketplace platform or the Bukalapak Partners application. This virtual product category includes investment products; bill payments, credit cards, and BPJS; travel, purchase of credit and electricity tokens; and credit loans.

“There are various kinds of virtual products, some have dropped due to the impact of the pandemic, such as travel tickets, events, and transportation,” Bukalapak’s Director of Payment, Fintech & Virtual Products, Victor Putra Lesmana said.

Moreover, there is BukaPengadaan product that has been released since 2017. The director of BukaPengadaan Hita Supranjaya said that the growth in the number of customers was more than 48% and more than 32% of sellers who joined from the beginning of the year to August 2020. The most sought-after products were MRO tools. , masks, disinfectants, PPE & rapid tests, electricity vouchers, pulses, shopping vouchers, smartphones, and laptops.

“As well as supporting products for lifestyle such as bicycles and medical devices are the list of top corporate or government needs that are fulfilled by SME players,” he explained.

Eventually, the marketplace becomes the oldest service at Bukalapak. VP of Marketplace at Bukalapak. Kurnia Rosyada said, during this pandemic, the company was recorded as receiving around 20 thousand new traders who registered every week. Now it is noted that Bukalapak has around 6 million pelapak and users of more than 90 million people. The platform has also been integrated with 26 financial institutions and 12 logistics partners.

Regarding shopping trends, Kurnia explained that there is currently a shift in online shopping time activity. Before the pandemic, the biggest increase was at night when I came home from work, now it is evenly distributed every day. Even the products that are widely purchased are also more dynamic, the beginning of a pandemic, the most sought-after products are health-related.

“The currently rising products are in the category of bicycles, sports equipment, games for children, such as tents, swimming pools, and gardening tools. This cycle of market changes is much faster than before the pandemic,” he concluded.

Competitor’s performance

Bukalapak’s enthusiasm is quite different from its competitors. Shopee is the closest, considering that the company also boasted of its achievements in the second quarter of 2020.

In the performance exposure of Shopee’s parent company, SEA, it is said that the company’s adjusted revenue growth was $ 510.6 million, up 187.7% YoY from the same period in the previous year.

Indonesia is Shopee’s biggest source of business, recording more than 260 million transactions during the second quarter. On average, Shopee manages to record more than 2.8 million transactions a day. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, Shopee recorded an increase of more than 130%.

However, the company is yet to be profitable. It is due to the adjusted loss at $305.5 million or greater than the previous year’s $248.3 million. However, the company is making progress towards profitability, adjusted EBITDA loss per order from $1.01 to $ 0.5.

Looking at the GMV number, there was a drastic growth of 109.9% or $ 8 billion, compared to the previous quarter in the first quarter with an increase of 74.3% YoY.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

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Gojek Introduces GoToko, to Help Small Shops Maintain Stock

In using a network of partners and merchants in the ecosystem, Gojek officially launched GoToko for shop owners or grocery stores to fulfill goods and product inventory. In accordance with the campaign launched, namely #MelajuBersamaGojek, it is hoped that GoToko can become a relevant platform for shop owners.

As prioritizing end-to-end services, Gojek strives to optimize the supply demand of goods by shop owners and grocery stores. Currently, GoToko is only available in South Tangerang. In the future, Gojek plans to gradually expand to other areas.

“The launch of GoToko strengthens Gojek’s mission to provide solutions faced by users and at the same time creates a social and economic impact for more stakeholders. In order to grow, these SMEs need to receive adequate service support, even though the location of the stalls is difficult to reach and small business-coverage,” GoToko’s CEO Gurnoor Singh Dhillon said.

GoToko is also equipped with features such as monitoring order history, tracking the delivery of ordered goods, inventory management, access to sales and financial data, and product recommendations according to market demands. Access to promotional and loyalty programs from product brands is increasingly open through the GoToko platform.

The concept that targets the B2B segment is not much different from that of Mitra Tokopedia and Mitra Bukalapak, which previously offered by the marketplace platform. Meanwhile, platforms such as IDmarco and Warung Pintar also offer similar services for shop owners and grocery stores in Indonesia.

Expand partnerships and optimize logistics

In addition to SME empowerment, GoToko is also open collaborations for consumer goods producers to jointly expand product reach, therefore the visibility of relevant products for grocery store consumers can increase. Next, those who join will get real-time market analysis access to the shop level that covers all product brands.

“GoToko’s services will support producers in increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of sales and marketing of newly launched products, opening up opportunities to utilize marketing channels and digital campaigns, becoming new market research channels; promotion and marketing in accordance with targets, and reduce costs and increase efficiency in the operation of the general trade channel. This end-to-end relationship is expected to increase industrial progress,” Gurnoor said.

GoToko offers various product categories, ranging from food, beverages, household needs, toiletries, beauty, and health, as well as baby needs from various manufacturers. With only a cellphone and minimum specifications as Android 6, grocery store entrepreneurs can access the GoToko application.

“Gojek’s reliable logistics services are here to ensure timely delivery. Through middle mile, warehousing, and last-mile solutions, the product will arrive at the grocery store a maximum of the next day with next day and same-day delivery services,” Gojek Group’s Head of Logistics Junaidi said .

Supported by the cash on delivery payment system from Gojek, shop owners can optimize operational costs. Not only saving costs, time, and complexity issues previously faced when shopping manually can be resolved through the GoToko platform.

Furthermore, GoToko will also enhance technological innovation to be able to increase the opportunities for additional income for shop owners and grocery stores by utilizing products, services, and other Gojek members.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Migo Develops Business Maturity in Indonesia, Partnering with Small Shops to Distribute Videos

Migo.tv (Migo) announced the closing of the Series B2 funding round. Participated also some well-known names in the Southeast Asian technology industry, such as Gojek and Lippo Karawaci’s Commissioner Ray Zage, YouTube’s Co-founder & ex-CTO Steve Chen, Agaeti Ventures’ Founder Pandu Sjahrir. One of their plans is to further develop their plans in Indonesia.

Migo’s representative said that its main objective in this round is to gather teams in supporting Migo to develop their plans in Indonesia.

“We are pleased with the quality of Indonesian investors who have joined us in this round, and they have provided strategic advantages for Migo,” one of Migo’s representatives told DailySocial.

Migo will bring their expertise in providing their flagship service in Indonesia through online to offline (O2O) videos-to-go which allows users to watch offline without buffering.

First developed by Barrett Comiskey, Migo allows app users to download movies and TV shows from Wargo (Warung Migo). In simple terms, users only need to go to the location of the grocery store that works with Migo to download movies or TV shows on the spot, and so they can enjoy the content offline.

“We just started this service in mid-June, we’re still quite an unknown brand [..] Our average customer visits Wargos to download 2 times per week. Average downloads per download day are nearly 800 MB, which is more of 4x the amount of data transmitted by the average mobile operator,” Migo’s representative said.

In particular, Migo’s target market is the mass market segment having issues with data and does not have adequate connectivity at home. Migo is here to solve this problem with global player partners such as Disney +, Netflix, and HBO.

“We are excited to find new investors with experience and expertise in the field when we launch it in Indonesia. With their capital and support, they have allowed us to focus on our core mission of giving everyone smartphone access to premium digital content at affordable prices. reduce the risk of our launch, and take advantage of this favorable environment,” Migo’s Founder and CEO Barret Comiskey said.

Migo’s business

Migo started his journey in Indonesia in March, and finally established in June with a subscription model. Since then, Migo claims to have experienced a quite high increase, especially in the current pandemic condition.

Migo explained that their first product was O2O video-to-go, also included in their plan to present exclusive technology for one-way digital experiences for learning materials, O2O e-commerce, services, finance, and others.

“In 2021 we will expand our network to more than 5000 locations and our active customer base to millions. Based on our current results, we also hope to achieve operating profitability by 2021,” Migo’s representative said.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

CATAPA Focuses on Relevant HR Solution Amid Pandemic

Recently, the HR solutions provider and payroll CATAPA launched a new program called #CATAPAFreeforUMKM. Through this program, Indonesian SMEs can get free access to their services. This is one of the company’s new initiatives in the last six months since the Covid-19 outbreak.

CATAPA’s Founder & CEO Stefanie Suanita acknowledged that the pandemic had both positive and negative impacts on her business. “The negative impact is due to CATAPA’s subscription business model for employees per month,” Stefanie told DailySocial.

It is said during the last few months, corporations in Indonesia have had to hold/reduce their budget for efficiency. Not a few business people – even small to large scale – are forced to lay off their employees.

On the other hand, he continued, this pandemic is forcing the business sector to perform digital transformation. This is because many companies implement Work From Home (WFH) during a pandemic which results in Human Resource (HR) activities must be performed outside the office.

“In this situation, many companies need payroll processing that can be done outside the office, such as at home,” he added.

Stefanie sees this situation as a positive impact because it presents opportunities. For example, an attendance solution can be monitored easily. She also mentioned, there are still many companies that have an attendance system using a fingerprint machine. Meanwhile, this device has the potential to become a medium for virus transmission because of the touching system.

Then the solution for approval of leave or overtime can be processed paperless and from anywhere. From the various possibilities above, his team tries to accommodate the demand of corporations in Indonesia.

“For now, we put more energy into features that are relevant to current conditions. The key is speed and adaptability. This means that CATAPA seeks to launch products or programs that are relevant to current conditions quickly,” she said.

Meanwhile, the #CATAPAFREEforUMKM program which was launched on September 1, is intended only for MSMEs with a maximum number of employees of 20 people. Stefanie said that this program is valid until August 31, 2021. However, it does not rule out the possibility of this program being extended if the enthusiasts continue to grow.

MSMEs will get free access to CATAPA Basic services which include payroll solutions, Time Management (employee attendance management), Employee Self Service / ESS (time management submission and approval portals, company information, and employee data), and Claudia Chatbot.

Previously, CATAPA had also launched a number of initiatives during the pandemic. For example, CATAPA Safe, an application that serves to identify distances between employees while in the work area.

The application, which was released in April 2020, has three main features, Track, Trace, and Isolate. If there are employees who are positive for Covid-19, the company can trace who has been in contact with the employee in question for the past 14 days for immediate isolation.

CATAPA was founded in 2017 and is one of the companies under GDP Venture. As of August 2020, CATAPA users have experienced a growth of more than 300 percent since its inception.

As a general note, the Minister of Cooperatives & Small and Medium Enterprises, Teten Masduki, previously predicted that as many as 50 percent of MSME businesses in Indonesia would go out of business due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has also disbursed Rp. 123 trillion for the UMKM assistance program.

As reported by Kompas.com, Workday’s latest report notes that as many as 50 percent of companies in Indonesia prioritize digital transformation, while 31 percent of them actually slow down this effort.

In addition, as many as 41 percent of companies in Indonesia have had difficulty managing new ways of tracing the licensing chain and other operational activities due to the pandemic. This report also states that the company’s ability to utilize digital means is one of the biggest challenges in implementing digital transformation during a pandemic.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

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What Pandemic Means to The Future of Indonesian Beauty Tech

In 2019, the former Minister of Communication and Information, Rudiantara, mentioned that the beauty tech industry would be one of the prima donna in the Indonesian digital economy market.

This is partly due to the beauty and personal care industry that has captured a lot of attention from startups in the last few years. The power of e-commerce in Indonesia opens up opportunities in various new business verticals and this is one of those.

Based on the Euromonitor report, the beauty market value in Indonesia was estimated to reach $8.46 billion in 2022, up from the estimated value in 2019 of $6.03 billion. However, will this forecast remain valid given the unexpected health crisis that emerged in early 2020?

DailySocial interviewed some beauty tech players and VC actors to find out about future trends in the beauty industry.

The rise of beauty tech in Indonesia

Beauty tech is defined as a new model for the beauty industry players in reaching consumers. Its business model is no longer focused on conventional distribution channels but combines the strengths of technology and digital.

In Indonesia, the term beauty tech cannot be separated from the emergence of Sociolla in 2015. Its founders, namely John Rasjid, Christopher Madiam, and Chrisanti Indiana, developed a platform that can connect consumers with various kinds of beauty brands. Sociolla may be the only beauty e-commerce platform that has been able to survive and develop until now.

Long before this term became popular, the Female Daily Network (FDN) had appeared and can be said to be the pioneer of the Indonesian beauty tech industry. FDN started as a personal blog about beauty content founded by Hanifa Ambadar and Affi Assegaf in 2005. At that time the penetration of the internet and technology was not as massive as it is now.

Over the past 15 years, FDN has transformed into a platform for beauty junkies to gather. FDN has a strong community base in Indonesia thanks to a rating system that allows anyone to review products from various brands. In fact, FDN is now starting to monetize its business through the Beauty Studio e-commerce platform.

For Co-founder and CEO of Female Daily Network Hanifa Ambadar, the development of beauty tech can accelerate the dissemination of information on beauty products. This means that beauty brands have the opportunity to get the spotlight from a wider audience. Technology actually makes it easier for them to understand the needs of consumers for their products.

“The voice of consumers can not only be used for the next product development, but also to read the tastes and maneuvers of competitors, and to design marketing campaigns,” Hanifa said in the #SelasaStartup session some time ago.

FDN and Sociolla are two clear examples of how technology is changing the beauty industry and becoming a promising business for Indonesia’s digital industry. FDN has received investment injections from several well-known venture capitals (VC), namely Ideosource, Sinar Mas Digital Ventures, and Convergence Ventures. Now, FDN has been acquired by CT Corp, which oversees Trans Media (Detikcom, CNN Indonesia, and CNBC Indonesia).

Last July, Sociolla secured $58 million in Series E funding from Temasek, Pavilion Capital, and Jungle Ventures. Meanwhile, East Ventures was also involved in funding the previous series. Crunchbase data records that the total funding raised by Sociolla from 2015 to date has reached $110 million.

The growth of the beauty industry doesn’t stop there. Ease of access to technology and digital platforms in Indonesia also contributes to the birth of new beauty brands in the country. Some of them, such as Rose All Day and Base, use a Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) approach to reach consumers.

Their appearance marks the positive market enthusiasm for beauty products. Market behavior changes. Information dissemination and product marketing are easier to do with the support of digital platforms.

Pandemic changes consumer behavior

The digital economy is predicted to be a sector that will contribute greatly to the Indonesian economy. However, with the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, what does this mean for the beauty tech industry in Indonesia?

According to Sociolla’s Co-founder and CMO Chrisanti Indiana, the pandemic will certainly change the trend of the beauty industry. Over the past six months, Sociolla discovered three new trends. First, the pandemic is driving an increasing trend of online shopping for beauty and personal care products.

Second, users inevitably take advantage of digital channels to buy beauty products. Third, the Work From Home (WFH) policies in many companies motivate people to take care of themselves.

Quoting Analytic Data Advertising (ADA), online shopping activities in Indonesia skyrocketed to 400 percent due to the pandemic in March 2020. Bank Indonesia said the number of e-commerce transactions since March 2020 reached 98.3 million transactions. Meanwhile, the total value of e-commerce transactions increased by 9.9 percent to IDR 20.7 trillion in the same period compared to February 2020.

Referring to the three findings above, Chrisanti said that the beauty sector still has stable growth going forward. In fact, she said that this sector has been a sector that has survived the pandemic era for the past six months.

“There are indeed changes in behavior and consumption, trends in make-up, and health protocols. However, [changes in behavior] actually strengthen the beauty industry in today’s difficult situation. Please note, self-care is a basic human need. We are optimistic that the beauty industry has great potential to grow.” in the future,” she told DailySocial.

Pandemic encourages local brands with DTC approach

As mentioned earlier, the development of the digital ecosystem has also contributed to the growth of new businesses in Indonesia. A number of domestic beauty brands are using the DTC approach to reach consumers easily and efficiently.

In terms of Base, for example, the brand was founded in 2019 and currently relying only on product marketing through the website. Meanwhile, the Rose All Day brand only relies on the marketplace as the front-end of online sales, such as Tokopedia and Shopee.

Generation Z and the millennial segment who are increasingly attached to the seamless lifestyle are considered to be reasons for some of the local brands to adopt this model. Moreover, physical stores are considered no longer relevant for this segment, considering that information and product availability can be accessed anytime and anywhere.

In a time of pandemic, the mushrooming trend of new brands is predicted to continue. The pandemic has indeed limited all kinds of offline activities. However, this can be an opportunity for the emergence of other new brands that apply a similar business model.

“Currently, marketing activities not only owned by big brands and existing players but also young and aspiring brands. For us, new trends will exist and are built on the presence of new brands that are established because of the digital ecosystem. This will continue to shape the beauty industry in Indonesia,” Chrisanti said.

Base’s CEO, Yaumi Fauziah Sugiharta assessed that Indonesia has a great opportunity to push the domestic beauty market. Especially if you look at the fact that Indonesian consumers are one of the big markets for beauty products in Asia, such as South Korea and Japan.

“Indonesia is one of the largest markets for beauty products in East Asia, for K-Beauty and J-Beauty. About 15 years ago, not many people used these types of products for several reasons; availability and distribution. Therefore, we see that Indonesia has the opportunity to boost penetration of local brands in the region. We have many international standard cosmetic manufacturers,” she explained.

Although this trend will trigger fierce competition, Yaumi believes that it will open up opportunities for consumers that local brands have the ability to create good quality products.

Challenges in the beauty tech

Behind the optimism of local brand growth, Hanifa emphasized that this is also a challenge. He acknowledged that the online platform provides wider access to information on beauty products.

However, consumers have the potential to be easily “distracted” and switch to another brand if they do not have a strong differentiating factor.

“Without it, people will no longer stay only on one website because there are more sources of ‘distraction’. Reflecting on this, we want to become an integrated ecosystem for beauty products,” she added.

Meanwhile, Yaumi sees her business model is having a competitive advantage during the pandemic. Base is positioned as a digitally native vertical brand (DNVB) whose main sales channel is online. Furthermore, a seamless shopping experience becomes big homework for the company.

“Because most consumers are currently not fully mobilized, this has triggered a shift in consumer behavior to shop online. For DNVB like Base, we must ensure that we can provide a seamless shopping experience on all channels, not only the website but also the communication channel,” he said.

Beauty tech optimism in the eye of investors

From an investor’s point of view, East Ventures (EV) Partner Melisa Irene sees several findings to validate the optimism of Indonesia’s beauty tech business in the pandemic era.

Based on its track record, EV is one of the VCs with great interest in this sector. Sociolla is the first EV portfolio in the beauty tech sector. In line with Sociolla’s growth and strong position in this sector, EV continues to invest in new DTC brands, namely Base (2019) and Nusantics (2020).

Returning to the matter of findings, Melisa believes her DTC portfolio will grow in the pandemic era. According to him, e-commerce is beneficial for DTC players due to the increasing trend of user screen time during WFH. A number of businesses have also started shifting sales from offline to online. This opens up opportunities for brands to reach receptive consumers.

“In addition, another opportunity is for many brands to diversify their products to meet consumer’s demand during a pandemic. Beauty products are easy to consume. As the industry matures, they have the opportunity to provide a strong shopping experience, especially from wellness/health products,” she said to DailySocial.

No wonder some of the existing and local brands are busy releasing sanitizer and mask products, two health products that have been highly sought after during the pandemic in the last few months.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian