Indonesia Weekly Review: 4 Archipelago Startup Stories You Don’t Want To Miss This Week [24 July – 29 July]

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

Indonesia Based Ecommerce Company Bhinneka To File An IPO In 2020

Indonesia-based online electronics marketplace Bhinneka Mentari Dimensi is gearing up for an IPO by 2020. The company plans to offer 30% of its total shares as part of an initial public offering. The proceeds will go into expanding the company’s reach.

The IPO was originally slated for 2018 but is now deferred until 2020.

Headquartered in the country’s capital of Jakarta, Bhinneka was founded by Tio in 1995. After operating as an offline computer supplier for three years, the company started Indonesia’s first online store in 1998.

At present, the online retail store sells computers, cell phones, tablets, software and other IT-related products. In addition to boasting a customer base of more than 1.5 Mn, Bhinneka currently serves up to 4,000 SMEs and MSMEs; provincial governments as well as ministries. It has more than 6,000 sellers on its platform at the moment.

Telkom Indonesia To Boost Partnerships With Digital Tech Startups

State-owned telecommunication services firm Telkom Indonesia is planning to boost partnerships with digital tech startups. The initiative aims at strengthening its business.

Recently, Telkom announced a partnership with online marketplace Tokopedia, wherein Alibaba has also recently shown interest to pick up a stake. This allowed customers to pay their monthly subscription fees to Indihome – Telkom’s pay TV, broadband internet, and landlines in one package – through the platform. It is now in talks with other ecommerce players, such as Bukalapak, about similar deals.

Agus Winarno, Telkom’s operation vice president for consumer assurance, said, “The company sees its future depends on collaboration with the digital space, as it grows and expands. The company continues to explore deals with many startups in the pipeline.”

Indonesia Based Kumparan Raises Funding From GDP Venture

Indonesia-based digital media startup Kumparan has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from the investment arm of GDP Venture, Global Digital International (GDI). The existing investors (names undisclosed) also joined the latest funding round.

The newly-secured funds will allow Kumparan to strengthen its business development apparatus, and also hire new talents for its tech team. A portion of the funds will also be used to develop products and services for users as well as commercial partners.

Global Digital International is the investment arm of technology venture builder GDP Venture. Established in 2010, GDP Venture provides support to up-and-coming startups in Indonesia’s digital realm, with a focus on media, commerce and solutions companies.

Traveloka Raises $500 Mn From Expedia And Others

Indonesia-based travel startup Traveloka has raised $500 Mn in two rounds of funding. The investors include US-based travel giant Expedia, China’s JD.com, East Ventures, Hillhouse Capital Group, and Sequoia Capital.

Expedia has fuelled $350 Mn in the travel startup. The remaining consortium of investors pooled $150 Mn in a separate round.

The recent funding has taken Traveloka’s valuation to about $1 Bn. With this Traveloka joins the unicorn league Gi-Jek, Grab, etc.

With destinations such as Bali, Jakarta, and Riau Islands, the archipelago is already a famous travel destination. The total foreign visitors’ arrival to Indonesia during the year 2016 was about 12 Mn. It was an increase of about 15.54% compared to 2015 year-on-year. According to BPS, Indonesia’s 19 major tourist entry points registered a total of 11.52 Mn tourist arrivals, showing an increase of 10.69% compared to 2015.

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

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