Indonesia’s Semaai Boosts Agri-Innovation with $4.7M Pre-Series A Funding Led by CyberAgent Capital

Indonesian agritech startup Semaai has successfully secured $4.7 million in a pre-Series A funding round, combining equity and debt financing. Tokyo-based venture capital firm CyberAgent Capital led the round. For Semaai, it brings its total funding to $7.6 million. New investors joining this funding round include Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia, Ruvento, MyAsiaVC, and Heracles Ventures.

Alongside CyberAgent Capital, Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia, Ruvento, MyAsiaVC, and Heracles Ventures, existing investors like Peak XV’s Surge, Accion Venture Lab, and Beenext also participated in this funding round.

With the recent injection of $4.7 million in funding, Semaai plans for expansion, aiming to amplify its agronomy advisory service to both agri-retailers and farmers. The startup intends to forge collaborations with fintech institutions, using advanced fintech solutions, and secure its footprint in Central Java. The goal is to cover 75% of the region’s villages by the close of 2024 to widespread impact and service accessibility.

The startup has experienced a fifteen-fold surge in net revenue in the last 12 months and doubled its Toko Tani marketplace user base. The advisory feature, a cornerstone of Semaai’s services, has seen adoption rise eightfold in the last six months, becoming an integral tool for most of the platform’s active users. 

“With the new funding, our company will collaborate with financial institutions and fintech providers to expand our embedded fintech solutions, having already doubled Semaai’s total transaction volume in the last twelve months. This is part of our goal to provide an integrated digital ecosystem that addresses disruptions in the supply chain and fills knowledge gaps for Indonesia’s agri-retailers and smallholder farmers,” said Muhammad Yoga Anindito, Co-founder and CEO of Semaai.

Established in 2021, Semaai positions itself as a ‘farmer-first’ enterprise dedicated to delivering comprehensive agritech solutions that empower farmers and small rural businesses in Indonesia. The startup’s mission is maximizing earnings for farmers and rural micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including local toko tanis. 

Semaai adopts a full-stack approach to agri-tech, extending services to enhance financial accessibility, providing tailored consultancy, and offering productivity tools. The suite of agricultural services encompasses vital elements like customized consultation, productivity-enhancing tools, and the provision of farming inputs such as seeds and fertilizers. 

CyberAgent Capital, an early-stage Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) firm based in Japan, has a track record of investments in prominent entities like Tokopedia, KakaoTalk, Tiki.vn, and eCommerce. The firm’s support aligns with its belief in Semaai’s capacity to bring innovation to the agricultural landscape, leveraging its unique model to drive positive change.

“Agriculture is the third largest contributor to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Indonesia. This certainly shows that the sector has massive opportunities, but unfortunately, it has been run traditionally without significant exposure to any digital adoption. As a result, productivity gains and development opportunities are left untapped. With the founding team’s long experience in the agriculture sector, we are confident that Semaai will revolutionize the Indonesian agricultural sector through its offline-to-online approach, especially within the agricultural input material supply chain,” said Kevin Wijaya, CyberAgent Capital, Director of CyberAgent Indonesia Office.