Tag: Init-6

Achmad Zaky’s New Investment Firm Init-6, Debuts with Seed Funding for Eduka

Bukalapak’s Co-founder and Founding Partner Init-6, Achmad Zaky announced the new investment firm focused on investment to early-stage startups. Bukalapak’s Co-founder, Nugroho Herucahyono also participated as Partner after resigned as the CTO. Init-6 debuts with its first investment to the edtech platform Eduka.

Zaky, after officially steps down as Bukalapak’s CEO earlier this year said the Covid-19 pandemic has initiated the new managed fund. Init-6 is a UNIX command that means reboot or reset. According to Zaky, Covid-19 requires humans to live in a new kind of lifestyle  (or known as “new normal”). They believe that we need to reboot or reset our way of life.

Prior to this, after no longer active in Bukalapak, Zaky is said to focus on foundations engaged in science and education, entrepreneurship, impact investment, and research.

To date, Zaky said the managed funds came from General Partners, none of them were from Limited Partners. Even so, he did not want to elaborate on this matter further, including how much funds under management at this time.

Init-6 will focus on investing in early-stage startups without specific sector preferences. “[The thing is] As long as it is tech-driven and backed with great founders,” Zaky said.

Investment on Eduka

Eduka is Init-6’s first startup investment. This educational technology platform was initiated by students and alumni of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). Eduka was built as a practice platform (try out) for students to UTBK and USM at various universities. This platform claims to have 800 thousand registered users and 180 thousand active students every month.

Zaky said Eduka reminded him of his experience 10 years ago when building Bukalapak. The company has now become one of the unicorns in Indonesia.

He said, “When we first met the Eduka founders, we were very impressed with their achievements. They built [this platform] from scratch, without capital. […] We hope they can graduate quickly this year and develop Eduka even faster. Education is a big pie [opportunity] and we believe Eduka can have a better impact on the Indonesian education system. ”

“We built the Eduka System because we believe students in Indonesia have good academic potential if trained properly. Unfortunately, we know that there are many students who only focus on memorizing a theory without understanding its application. This makes it limited to the ability to solve complex problems. We want to unlock their potential by providing High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) exercises that are easy to apply and connect with everyday life so that they are accustomed to facing complex problems. With the help of technology, we believe we can improve [quality] education in Indonesia,” Eduka’s CEO [who still pursuing his degree], Faiz said.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Achmad Zaky Dirikan Perusahaan Investasi Init-6, Beri Pendanaan Awal untuk Platform Edtech Eduka

Co-Founder Bukalapak dan Founding Partner Init-6 Achmad Zaky mengumumkan pendirian perusahaan investasi Init-6 yang fokus berinvestasi ke startup tahap awal. Co-Founder Bukalapak Nugroho Herucahyono juga bergabung menjadi Partner perusahaan setelah melepaskan posisi CTO Bukalapak. Init-6 memberikan investasi perdananya ke platform edtech Eduka.

Kepada DailySocial, Zaky yang resmi lengser dari posisi CEO Bukalapak awal tahun ini menyebut kehadiran pandemi Covid-19 sebagai hal yang mendorong berdirinya dana investasi ini. Init-6 adalah perintah UNIX yang berarti reboot atau mengatur ulang. Menurut Zaky, Covid-19 mewajibkan manusia hidup dengan gaya baru (atau dikenal dengan istilah “new normal“). Mereka percaya bahwa kita perlu me-reboot atau mengatur ulang cara hidup kita.

Sebelumnya Zaky menyebut pasca tidak lagi aktif di Bukalapak, dirinya akan fokus di yayasan yang bergerak di bidang sains dan edukasi, kewirausahaan, impact investment, dan penelitian.

Sejauh ini Zaky menyebut dana kelolaan masih berasal dari General Partner, belum ada yang dari Limited Partner. Meskipun demikian, ia tidak mau merinci soal ini lebih jauh, termasuk berapa dana kelolaannya saat ini.

Init-6 akan fokus berinvestasi di startup tahap awal tanpa ada preferensi sektor tertentu. “[Yang penting] Selama tech driven dan didukung great founders,” kata Zaky.

Berinvestasi ke Eduka

Eduka menjadi startup pertama yang diinvestasi Init-6. Platform teknologi pendidikan ini diinisiasi oleh mahasiswa dan alumni Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). Eduka dibangun sebagai platform berlatih (try out) siswa menghadapi UTBK dan USM di berbagai universitas. Platform ini mengklaim telah memiliki 800 ribu pengguna terdaftar dan 180 ribu siswa aktif setiap bulannya.

Zaky menilai Eduka mengingatkannya atas pengalaman 10 tahun lalu membangun Bukalapak. Kini perusahaan ini telah menjadi salah satu startup unicorn di Indonesia.

Ia mengungkapkan, “Saat pertama kali bertemu para pendiri Eduka, kami sangat terkesan dengan pencapaian mereka. Mereka membangun [platform ini] dari nol, tanpa modal. [..] Kami harap mereka dapat cepat lulus tahun ini dan mengembangkan Eduka lebih cepat lagi. Edukasi adalah ruang [peluang] yang besar dan kami percaya Eduka dapat memberikan dampak lebih baik bagi sistem edukasi Indonesia.”

“Kami membangun Eduka System karena kami percaya siswa di Indonesia memiliki potensi akademis yang bagus jika dilatih dengan baik. Sayangnya, kita tahu bahwa ada banya siswa yang hanya fokus menghafalkan teori tanpa memahami penerapannya. Hal ini membuat kemampuannya terbatas untuk menyelesaikan permasalahan kompleks. Kami ingin membuka potensi mereka dengan memberikan latihan High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) yang mudah diaplikasikan dan terhubung dengan kehidupan sehari-hari sehingga mereka terbiasa menghadapi permasalahan kompleks. Dengan bantuan teknologi, kami percaya kami dapat meningkatkan [kualitas] pendidikan di Indonesia,” ujar Faiz, CEO Eduka yang masih berkuliah ini.