Indonesia Weekly Review: 5 Archipelago Startup Stories You Don’t Want To Miss This Week [19 June – 24 June]

From mergers & acquisitions, to fundings and contests, here is the neext edition of Indonesia weekly review – your weekly dose of the latest happenings from the Indonesia startup ecosystem.

Indonesian Govt Launches Ayo Mudik

Ayo Mudik is a smartphone application. It enables travellers to get access to real-time traffic information as well as nearest rest areas, police stations, gas stations, mosques, and ATM machines. There is also a built-in map service that finds alternative routes to avoid traffic congestion.

The app was developed by Jakarta-based startup Kudo, with support from various ministries and related institutions.

As per a statement by Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara to Jakarta Globe, the Ayo Mudik app was developed in less than a month.

Kioson Raises $450K Funding

Indonesia-based O2O ecommerce startup Kioson has raised about $450K funding from Mitra Komunikasi Nusantara (MKN).With this investment, the company has acquired about 5% stake in Kioson.

Kioson will use the funding for product development, adding more value to services, and bringing more features on the platform. The company also looks forward for local expansion of the business by increasing the number of kiosks from 15,000 to 100,000.

The ecommerce company was founded in May 2015 by Roby Tan and Viperi Limiardi.

Healthtech Startup BookDoc Raises Funding To Enter Indonesia

Malaysia-based healthcare startup BookDoc has raised an undisclosed amount of investment from Indonesia-based wealthy Hamami Family. The Hamami Family is one of the richest family in Indonesia and owns heavy equipment brand Trakindo Utama, Carl’s Jr. Burger restaurants franchise and LOKA supermarkets.

The startups plans to utilise the funding to enter Indonesia. BookDoc is currently operational in Malaysia, Singapore, HongKong and Thailand.

Earlier, BookDoc received investment from a family member of Macau billionaire tycoon Stanley Ho, as well as closed a seed round led by Prince Abdul Qawi, a member of the Brunei Royal family.

Investree To Introduce Sharia-Compliant Financing Soon

Jakarta-based Investree Radhika Jaya, which operates as a peer-to-peer financial services company, is planning to launch a Sharia-compliant lending service by the end of July. The initiative aims to meet a rising demand for such products in the online lending space in Indonesia.

As per the report, the National Sharia Council was established by the Indonesian Ulama Council to ensure that banking products, services and operations comply with the principles of Islamic law.

The loan will be based on an Islamic scheme called wakalah, which involves a predetermined fee instead of interest.

Facebook Gets Indonesia Nod for Local Unit

Facebook currently operates in Indonesia through an office in central Jakarta. It has now got the permission to set up a domestic unit in Indonesia and the government is now processing the details.

The government is looking at what kind of business unit Facebook can set up in Indonesia.

“I see good intention and spirit from Facebook. What we care about are taxes and responsible content,” said Thomas Lembong, chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

Stay tuned for next week’s edition of Indonesia startup news.