Indonesia’s UENA secures additional funding for expansion

Indonesia-based hyperlocal online F&B startup, UENA, has secured new funding from existing investor East Ventures and new investor Trihill Capital in a round that closed in Q1 2023.

The amount raised was not disclosed. The fresh funding will be used to expand UENA’s locations and services to reach more users and customers.

Since launching in August 2022, UENA has opened seven kitchen locations in Jakarta and has served over 300,000 portions.

Customers can order directly through the UENA App or via WhatsApp, and each kitchen only serves a hyperlocal radius of 1-1.5 km radius, delivering orders in 15 minutes.

The startup aims to solve the problem of Indonesia’s US$90 billion annual food market being almost entirely served by unorganised street vendors by offering quality food at affordable prices through online delivery.

“We are excited to continue our support to UENA and partake in the disruption of the daily food industry in Indonesia,” said Jordy Tenka of East Ventures.

UENA’s co-founder and CEO, Alvin Arief, stated that the new funding reinforces their confidence in continuing to capture the great opportunity ahead.

The startup is now focusing on expansion and duplication in Jakarta, with each kitchen requiring low capital, fast set-up, and flexibility to use a wide range of available spaces. UENA plans to add more menus to increase customer repeat orders at multiple meal times throughout the week.

“Daily food segment is very interesting with few menu selections because people keep coming back to the same basic staple menus. This can lead to very high volume on each of the items where we can maximize on the operation streamline and procurement in bulk,” said Roy Yohanes, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of UENA.

East Ventures, founded in 2009, has invested in over 300 tech companies across Southeast Asia, including Tokopedia and Traveloka, Indonesia’s unicorn companies. Other notable companies in its portfolio include Ruangguru, SIRCLO, Tech in Asia, and ShopBack.

The venture capital firm has been named the most active investor in SEA and Indonesia by various media and was the first VC firm in Indonesia to sign the Principles of Responsible Investment supported by the United Nations.