With a population of over 250 million, Indonesia has become an increasingly attractive emerging market for technology investments. The country has the fourth-highest number of Facebook users in the world and middle-class and affluent consumers will grow by eight to nine million each year to 141 million in 2020, according to a recent BCG (Boston Consulting Group) report. The country is poised to become the seventh biggest economy in the world by 2030, surpassing the UK and Germany.
In response to this wave of incredible growth and market demand for technology and online platforms, venture capital firms have become very active in the startup scene in Indonesia. A joint study by A.T. Kearney and Google found that investment funding rose from $1.4 billion USD in 2016, to an estimated $3 billion USD in the first eight months of 2017. Here are four of the top VC firms investing in Indonesia today.
Here’s part one of our look into the Indonesian VC scene
Alpha JWC Ventures
Based out of Jakarta and Singapore, Alpha JWC Ventures invests in startups in the FinTech and sustainable consumer sectors in Indonesia. The firm touts its long-term focus, and growing portfolio companies through a variety of investment rounds in conjunction with highly reputable institutional investors in Asia, the United States, and Europe. The firm closed a $50 million USD fund in 2017 and plans to raise a $100 million USD in 2018.
Alpha JWC also prioritises portfolio companies that demonstrate a significant social impact. OnlinePajak, an online tax service provider, has facilitated $3 billion USD in Indonesian tax payments and registered 730,000 corporate taxpayers. Modalku, a peer-to-peer lending platform, has provided business loans to 2,000 small- and medium-sized businesses in Southeast Asia. TaniHub, an online agricultural retailer, has supported 17,000 farmers.
Other portfolio companies include WeWork, a worldwide community of workspaces and services for creators; Dattabot, which provides big data analytics in Indonesia; Jualo, a web-based marketplace for secondhand goods; and Yukepo, an entertainment, and lifestyle online media platform for millennial women.
Kejora Ventures
Founded in 2014, Kejora Ventures has over 35 portfolio companies in Asia and $200 million USD in assets under management across several funds. Maintaining offices in Indonesia, Singapore, The Philippines, and Thailand, the firm seeks to develop the startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Their investments in early-stage, high-growth businesses with enormous potential in scalable tech verticals have produced over 3,000 jobs in the past three years.
Kejora offers their portfolio companies professional development, access to industry experts, go-to-market support, and connections within the FinTech, ecommerce, SaaS, and digital media sectors. Their business has four main silos. Kejora Root partners with founders and supplies them with co-working facilities, entrepreneurial lessons, and guidance in idea generation. Kejora Early invests between $200,000 and $3 million USD in seed-stage, high-acceleration startups. Kejora Growth provides capital for growth-stage companies in the amounts of $5 million to $10 million USD. Kejora Unity offers a large community of business partners and investors, as well as Series B and C+ investments.
Portfolio companies include C88, a digital customer solutions provider for financial and insurance companies in Southeast Asia; SiCepat, an air, and land delivery service for online retailing and ecommerce platforms in Indonesia; and Qareer, a web-based recruitment intermediary and intelligence provider for Southeast Asia.
Part 2 of our regional VC overview is here
GDP Venture
Founded in 2010 and with reportedly $100 million USD in capital, GDP (Global Digital Prima) Venture invests in an online network, media, and ecommerce businesses. The investment firm’s goal is to promote the Indonesian digital startup industry, particularly entrepreneurship, engineering, product development, and marketing.
The founder and CEO, Martin Hartono, has stated that investment decisions are based on concepts that are a great cause to Indonesia and startup teams that can execute those concepts well. GDP Venture, according to Hartono, is playing the long game and can wait at least five years for a return on investment.
Portfolio companies include Kaskus, the largest online network and social commerce platform in Indonesia, with 4.8 million members and 20 million unique visitors a day; Beritagar, Indonesia’s first media portal that uses computer-assisted reporting to aggregate and revise content under the motto, “Taking Care of Indonesia”; Blibli.com, an Indonesian online retailer pioneer; and Merah Putih, Indonesia’s first technology and digital incubator.