With a raging pandemic, the past few years have been a difficult one for many Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia. But the year 2021 also saw historical moments made by startups in the country’s ecosystem which might just take it to the next level.
From the first IPO by a local unicorn to acquisitions by global companies, Indonesia continues to prove itself as a favourite destination for both investors and founders. The existing challenges that the market is currently facing only serve as an exciting stimulant for creative minds.
Here is a handy list of 27 Indonesian startups that have made headlines in 2021 with their achievements and milestones, as covered by the e27 team:
Pintu
Pintu, a mobile-first crypto wallet and trading platform, secured US$35 million in an extended Series A financing, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
With the fresh capital, Pintu aims to aggressively employ fresh people across all major functions and build Indonesia’s “largest cryptocurrency exchange”. Besides, the startup also plans to develop new products and features to improve user experience and make inroads into other asset classes, as well as to conduct mass-market education programmes.
Bukalapak
The first among Indonesian unicorn startups to go public, e-commerce giant Bukalapak made its debut on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on August 6, raising US$1.5 billion in its initial public offering (IPO).
Debuting at IDR850, the shares price rose 25 per cent and was capped at IDR1,060 (US$1=IDR14,369). Bukalapak wants to use the proceeds from the IPO to support the operations of its holding company and its subsidiaries.
Also Read: How millennials and the pandemic are driving the growth of cloud kitchens in Indonesia
Blibli
Even before this year, Indonesia is already home to many unicorn startups. Blibli is the latest to secure the status this year.
This information was confirmed by CEO Kusumo Martanto in an exclusive interview with DailySocial for its Mastermind column. “However, as a digital company, what we really want is to create a sustainable business with a positive value and impact for the society,” he states.
Kredivo
FinAccel, Kredivo’s parent company, has announced a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings II (VPCB), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Victory Park Capital (VPC), to go public in the US.
The transaction assigns FinAccel an approximate valuation of US$2.5 billion. It is expected to deliver over US$430 million of gross proceeds, including a private investment of US$120 million led by Marshall Wace, Corbin Capital, SV Investment, Palantir Technologies, Maso Capital, and sponsor Victory Park Capital.
HappyFresh
E-grocery platform HappyFresh has secured US$65 million in a Series D funding round, co-led by Naver Financial Corporation and Dutch investor Gafina. STIC, LB, and Mirae Asset Indonesia and Singapore, besides existing investors such as Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund and Z Venture Capital also participated, the company said in a statement.
HappyFresh will also use a part of the capital injection to put in place plans to improve service offerings.
GudangAda
GudangAda has raised US$100 million in a Series B funding round led by Asia Partners and Falcon Edge. The company stated that the funding round was oversubscribed as it initially targeted to raise US$75 million. It brought the company’s total funding to date to approximately US$135 million.
It is one of the Indonesian startups that have raised a significant amount of funding in a relatively short time.
Aruna
Fisheries and marine platform Aruna announced that it has raised US$35 million in a Series A funding round led by Prosus Ventures and East Ventures (Growth Fund). This news comes after the company raised US$5.5 million in 2020.
With the newly raised capital, Aruna aims to expand its presence nationwide and strengthen its supply chain infrastructure. This funding round has turned Aruna into one of the most well-funded fishery and marine startups in the country, following the steps of eFishery.
Oy!
Fintech platform Oy! raised a US$45 million Series A funding round led by Softbank Ventures Asia and MDI Ventures. The accumulation of the funding rounds is said to bring the company’s valuation to beyond US$108 million.
The company has also named minimarket chain Alfamart as a strategic partner which opens up opportunity for Oy! to enter the O2O segment.
Also Read: Fuse closes Series B in a GGV Capital-led round to grow its insurtech platform beyond Indonesia
BukuWarung
BukuWarung, a fintech firm that helps Indonesia’s micro SMEs digitise their business, raised US$60 million in a Series A funding led by American VC firm Valar Ventures, along with fintech unicorns Wise, N26, and Goodwater Capital. Former GoPay CEO Aldi Haryopratomo and Klarna founder Victor Jacobsson, as well as partners from SoftBank and Trihill Capital, also participated in the funding round
This brings the two-year-old company’s total funding raised so far to US$80 million.
TaniHub
TaniHub Group, which operates e-commerce and P2P lending platforms for farmers in Indonesia, has closed its US$65.5 million Series B round of financing, led by MDI Ventures. New and existing investors, including Add Ventures, BRI Ventures, Flourish Ventures, Intudo Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Tenaya Capital, UOB Venture Management, Telkomsel Mitra Inovasi, and Vertex Ventures, also joined the round.
With this funding round, TaniHub is now one of the most well-funded agritech startups in the country.
BukuKas
BukuKas, a digital ledger app for MSMEs in Indonesia, announced that it has raised US$50 million in Series B funding. The round includes participation from angel investors Gokul Rajaram, an executive of DoorDash, and Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of Wise (formerly known as TransferWise).
This news comes just four months after the company’s US$10 million Series A fundraise led by Sequoia Capital India.
GoTo Group
Indonesian unicorn startups Gojek and Tokopedia confirmed that they have combined their businesses to form GoTo Group. First reported by Bloomberg earlier this year, the merger and the launch of the GoTo Group identity have been one of the most crucial developments in the Southeast Asian tech startup ecosystem.
Though the company did not mention the financial details of the merger, in a press statement, they said that the agreement “marks the largest ever business combination in Indonesia and the largest between two Asia-based internet media and services companies to date.”
Social Bella
Beauty tech company Social Bella raised approximately US$56 million in a funding round led by L Catterton, marking the US-based PE firm’s maiden investment in Indonesia. Indies Capital, along with existing investors East Ventures and Jungle Ventures, also participated.
Social Bella will use the capital for product innovation and continued expansion across Southeast Asia.
Amartha
Amartha, a P2P lending platform focused on women micro-entrepreneurs, raised US$28 million investment from the Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II fund and MDI Ventures. Mandiri Capital and UOB Venture Management also participated in the funding round.
This follows the company’s US$50 million debt financing round from US-based Lendable in February.
The investment will be used to strengthen its community-based lending business and further develop its product.
Also Read: Yummy Corp extends Series B round to scale its cloud kitchen biz into 50 new locations in Indonesia
Bibit
Robo-advisor startup Bibit.id raised US$65 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. Prosus Ventures (global consumer internet group), Tencent and Harvard Management Company, besides existing investors AC Ventures and East Ventures also joined the round.
This round came just under four months after it secured US$30 million from Sequoia, East Ventures, EV Growth and 500 Startups.
HaloDoc
HaloDoc raised US$80 million in a Series C funding round led by local automotive conglomerate Astra with the participation of TMI, Temasek, Novo Holdings, and Bangkok Bank. It plans to channel the fresh capital towards expansion plans in its healthcare verticals and improve the patient experience on its platform.
Ruangguru
Edutech startup Ruangguru raised US$55 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from GGV Capital. With the new financing, the company plans to further accelerate its business expansion across Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.
This funding round came just a year after it closed a US$150-million Series C round led by Global Atlantic and GGV Capital.
Shipper
Digital logistics provider Shipper secured US$63 million in a Series B funding round led by DST Global partners and Sequoia Capital India. The funding round also included the participation of Prosus Ventures, Floodgate, Lightspeed, Insignia Ventures, AC Ventures and Y Combinator.
This round comes less than a year after Shipper raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding in June.
Ajaib
Online investment platform Ajaib Group raised an additional investment of US$65 million for its Series A round led by Silicon Valley-based fintech VC firm Ribbit Capital. Participating investors include ICONIQ Capital, Bangkok Bank, and notable angels such as Nubank’s David Velez and Toss’s SG Lee.
This marks Ribbit’s inaugural investment into a Southeast Asia company.
Pluang
Wealthtech startup Pluang announced a US$20 million pre-Series B round led by returning investor Openspace Ventures. Other existing investors, including Go-Ventures, also participated.
This funding round comes two years after the fintech startup bagged US$3 million in Series A funding in March 2019.
Xendit
Digital payment infrastructure company Xendit secured US$64.6 million in a Series B funding round led by Accel. The funding round also included the participation of Y Combinator, which brings the fintech firm’s total amount raised to date to US$88 million.
Warung Pintar
Micro-retail tech startup Warung Pintar announced the acquisition of Bizzy Digital, an integrated logistics and distribution supply chain B2B platform, for US$45 million. This is part of Warung Pintar’s push to solidify its position in Indonesia’s B2B e-commerce market, which it says is expected to grow to become at least thrice the size of its B2C cousin.
Following the acquisition, Bizzy Digital will still remain a separate entity as a brand and organisation.
Mekari
Mekari, a SaaS platform for human resource and finance management, acquired Qontak, a startup that provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and omnichannel communications platforms, for an undisclosed sum. Following the acquisition, Qontak Founder & CEO Brendan Rakphongphairoj will be joining Mekari’s top management. He will continue his leadership position at Qontak as one of Mekari’s business units.
This acquisition followed Mekari’s US$21 million Series D funding round led by Money Forward in April.
Hangry
Cloud kitchen startup Hangry announced an “oversubscribed” funding of US$13 million in an Alpha JWC Ventures-led Series A round. The funding round also included the participation of Atlas Pacific Capital, Salt Ventures, and Heyokha Brothers.
Hangry plans to use this capital to scale its business and open more than 120 outlets in total, with the aim of launching 20-plus dine-in restaurants across Indonesia in 2021.
Kopi Kenangan
The founders of coffee chain startup Kopi Kenangan launched an angel investment fund targeting early-stage Indonesian companies, called ‘Kenangan Fund’. Its average ticket size ranges from US$10,000 to US$150,000 per investment and is sector-agnostic.
It has invested in startups such as Dropezy, Bukukas, Noice, and Otoklix.
Traveloka
Travel tech giant Traveloka is planning to publicly list in the US in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The startup has reportedly engaged JPMorgan Chase as plans to go public accelerate. Traveloka is said to be valued at close to US$6 billion.
Ula
Ula, a micro-retail e-commerce platform, announced a US$20 million Series A funding round co-led by Quona Capital and B Capital Group. The funding round also included the participation of existing investors Lightspeed India and Sequoia India.
This follows a US$10.5 million seed funding in June 2020.
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