Ecommerce major Bukalapak plans to list in Indonesia after raising US$234 million in funding

Bukalapak, Indonesia’s ecommerce major has recently raised US$234 million in a fresh funding round led by Microsoft, Emtek (local media giant), and Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. The funding round also saw participation from SC Ventures, the investment art of Standard Chartered and Naver, a Korean web portal.

According to the company sources, the ecommerce unicorn is planning to list in Indonesia and has tied up with the financial institution Mandiri Sekuritas, the securities arm of Mandiri to help them in the process.

The latest funding has come after six months when the reports stated that the startup is raising US$100 million as fresh funding, which at that time included GIC, Emtek, and Microsoft as investors.

Bukalapak has recently launched “innovative offerings” in collaboration with Standard Chartered as part of its efforts to promote the digital banking platform of the bank. The partnership will see the bank offering digital financial services to the ecommerce major’s customer base of 13.5 million sellers and over 100 million users. According to the media reports, the partnership aims to enhance financial inclusion in the country and will promote Indonesia’s digital economic growth.

The startup itself has started to foray into the FinTech space beginning with the launch of services such as gold transactions and mutual funds on its platform.

Once the local listing materializes, Bukalapak will then look to merge with SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) in the United States.

With multiple tech startups seeking public listings in Southeast Asia, there has been a growing interest among the investors in the tech startups of the region. Recently Grab, Southeast Asia’s super-app announced its merger plans with SPAC Altimeter Growth Corp in what is being said as the largest SPAC deal across the globe.

About Bukalapak

Founded in 2011 by Fajrin Rasyid, Achmad Zaky, and Nugroho Herucahyono, the Jakarta-based startup operates an ecommerce portal that offers a wide range of consumer products across Indonesia. The product offerings come along with easy returns, flexible payment options such as credit/debit card payment, cash on delivery, and net banking among others enabling consumers to find and shop an array of commercial and personal products.

Bukalapak is backed by various investors including 500 Startups, GIC, Microsoft, Ant Group, and Strive.