Indonesian Telco Indosat Ooredoo Shuts Down Ecommerce Arm – Cipika

Indonesia-based telecom company, Indosat Ooredoo has reportedly decided to shut down its ecommerce vertical, Cipika.

Cipika was launched in 2014 and sold electronics items on its platform. The ecommerce marketplace will stop operations from June 1, 2017. The last transaction it facilitated was on May 22, 2017, as per e27.

In a formal announcement of the shutdown, a statement from Cipika stated, “We will use the remaining time in May to ensure that all purchases are being delivered and all merchants are receiving their payments, for all the transactions on the Cipika Store platform. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our merchant partners for their collaboration, as well as to our amazing customers.”

The ceasing of operations will be followed by layoffs in the company. As per an e27 report, the company is laying off a fewemployees, while the rest are being transferred to other business units in Indosat Ooredoo.

Additionally, the shutdown would not affect the operations of Indosat’s online marketplace for games Cipika Play. The platform will continue to function as before.

In another development, Indosat’s cashless payments platform, Dompetku has also been rebranded as PayPro. PayPro now has an independent e-payment license and the platform is now separated from Indosat Ooredoo.

As per the above stated report, Indosat Ooredoo now plans to further strengthen its network and digital business via strategic partnerships.

Following these developments, Cipika’s head Carlos Karo-karo and Dompetku’s head Randy Pangalila will continue working for Indosat at different positions.

Indosat Ooredoo is a digital telecommunications company based in Indonesia. The company offers communication services for mobile-phone users, both for prepaid and postpaid, under the brands Matrix Ooredoo, Mentari Ooredoo and IM3 Ooredoo. As per its Linkedin page, Indosat Ooredoo has 80.5 Mn subscribers and has recorded an increase of data usage at 83.5% compared to 2015.

It has also partnered with Kejora Ventures in launching an accelerator programme in the country, Ideabox. Ideabox has recently expanded to launch its VC firm, with the launch of Ideabox Ventures.

Indosat’s telecommunications platform faces competition from Telkom’s Blanja and XL Axiata’s Elevenia. In February 2016, Elevenia secured $50 Mn in fresh funding in a round led by mobile operator XL Axiata, as per e27. The round also saw participation from SK Planet — a subsidiary of South Korea’s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom.

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