COUNTRY SPECIAL

INDONESIA: THE TOP 5 WITH THE MOST STARTUPS IN THE WORLD

Indonesia is becoming a global leader in the ongoing rankings.

13.11.2021
BY HANUM FAUZIA
SHARE THE STORY

Indonesia is in the top 5 countries with the most startups in the world, according to data from Startup Ranking, a site promoting entrepreneurship globally. With 2,305 startups, Indonesia is becoming a global leader in the ongoing rankings. The top four countries are the United States (69,565 companies), India (11,819), the United Kingdom (6,025), and Canada (3,145).

Indonesia famously has one decacorn (valuation above $10 billion) in Gojek (now Go-To since its merger with Tokopedia). The merged GoTo was the most important business deal in Indonesian history and created a potential global tech giant. The country also has seven unicorns (startups with $1 billion) – Bukalapak, OVO, Traveloka, J&T Express, OnlinePajak, Ajaib, and Xendit.

Bloomberg also reports that Southeast Asian conglomerates are increasing their investments in startups, either by partnering with venture capital firms or through direct investment – as is also the case with Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Telkom, Mandiri, and BRI. They now have their venture capital units.


GoTo: Gojek and Tokopedia become the largest technology group in Indonesia

GoTo Group combines e-commerce, on-demand, and financial services, creating the first platform in Southeast Asia to host these three essential use cases in one ecosystem. The ecosystem encompasses 2% of Indonesia’s GDP 1 and will continue to expand, serving Indonesia’s 270 million consumers, as well as other fast-growing and emerging markets across Southeast Asia. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by INFO GOTO | Gojek × Tokopedia (@infogoto)

 


GoTo Group will unlock new income-earning opportunities for millions of drivers, merchants, and entrepreneurs. The combination is the largest ever in Indonesia and the largest between two Asia-based Internet and media services companies to date. The deal is backed by major investors including Alibaba Group, Astra International, BlackRock, Capital Group, DST, Facebook, Google, JD.com, KKR, Northstar, Pacific Century Group, PayPal, Provident, Sequoia Capital India, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, Telkomsel, Temasek, Tencent, Visa, and Warburg Pincus.

GoTo brings together the strengths of two Indonesian champions and creates a globally unique and highly complementary ecosystem that combines e-commerce, on-demand, and financial services. GoTo Group is Indonesia’s largest digital consumer platform, capturing a majority of consumer household expenditure. The Group’s comprehensive merchant and partner network will offer an unparalleled selection of goods and services. Its leading payments and financial services business will provide convenience and significantly increase financial inclusion. 


Ajaib: Indonesian stock platform becomes country's latest unicorn

According to Nikkei Asia, Ajaib, an investment app in Indonesia, has become the country's latest unicorn after raising $153 million in its Series B funding.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Ajaib (@ajaib_investasi)


Ajaib's status as a unicorn -- a private company valued at more than $1 billion -- comes just three years after its foundation and reflects Indonesia's retail investing sector growth. Ajaib claims it is "the fastest startup to reach unicorn status in Southeast Asia."

The startup has raised $243 million in 2021, including $90 million in its Series A round in March. Investors in the latest round include a number that have invested in Robinhood, including DST Global, Ribbit Capital, ICONIQ Capital, and IVP.

Other investors include the venture capital arm of Japan's SoftBank Group, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Horizon Ventures, and Alpha JWC, a local VC firm.

Ajaib allows users to buy and sell company shares and mutual funds on its app. While it does not offer commission-free trading like Robinhood, it has lower fees than its competitors, which are usually the trading platforms of local securities companies. It also claims to be the first online stockbroker in Indonesia to have scrapped minimum capital requirements for its users.

According to the Indonesia Stock Exchange, there were 2.6 million retail stock investors in Indonesia as of the end of August; Ajaib said it accounts for 1 million of those. It also says that most of its users consist of millennials and Gen Z, first-time investors.

Anderson Sumarli, Ajaib's co-founder and CEO, said in a statement that the startup will be using the raised funds to "massively recruit product and engineering talent from the region and launch products to attract more first-time investors."

Indonesia has seen a rapid rise in such investors in recent months, thanks to the growth in Ajaib and other investment platforms and people having more free time at home due to social restrictions in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the exchange, retail investors accounted for 59% of the trading value on the IDX in the eight months to August, compared to only 37% in 2019.

 

 

#THE S MEDIA #Media Milenial #ajaib #goto indonesia #startups in indonesia #unicorn from indonesia #decacorn from indonesia