Finance
Community-based social commerce platform Chilibeli raises US$10M led by Lightspeed Ventures
Indonesian social commerce platform Chilibeli that connects farmers and manufacturers to bring fresh and quality products at affordable prices, has received US$10 million in funding, led by Lightspeed Ventures.
Also participated in the round are Golden Gate Ventures, Sequoia Surge, Kinesys Group, and Alto Partners.
Also Read: Meet the 8 Southeast Asian startups who will receive US$1-2M each from Sequoia’s Surge programme
According to the company, the funds are being used to strengthen Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, and Depok’s networks of communities, while also expanding its reach to Bogor and Bekasi. It also plans to continue to improve the UI and UX of its application, as well as advancing the facility of its Depok’s warehouse.
Launched in July 2019 by Alex Feng, Damon Yue, and Matt Li, Chilibeli empowers its agents (partners), many of whom are housewives, with the opportunity to create value for consumers, promote community bonding, and increase their household income.
Chilibeli saw a social opportunity in Indonesian housewives being in control of household spending. The firm is seeking opportunities to pursue their aspirations by also finding another source of income to the family, and Chilibeli benefits housewives by leveraging social networks amongst their communities and neighbourhood through the most basic household spendings, and also by making the price of groceries more affordable compared to the price of the market, daily.
Genomics-tech startup Nusantics raises seed funding led by East Ventures
Indonesia-based genomics technology company Nusantics announced today it has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding, led by East Ventures.
The fresh funds will be used to “accelerate company in pioneering the BioGenome journey” in the country.
Nusantics focusses on applying advancements in genomics and microbiome research to fulfil consumer needs of a healthy yet sustainable lifestyle. The company was founded in 2019 by Sharlini Eriza Putri, Vincent Kurniawan, and Revata Utama.
Microbiome is a complex ecosystem of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live on and inside every human and every living thing on earth. It is instrumental to the immune system and each person has a unique microbiome profile.
Nusantics believes that understanding customers’ own microbiome profile is essential in helping consumers pick the necessary products that fit their bodily needs and also are more sustainable.
The firm said it plans to begin to introduce its technology to the Indonesian lifestyle market by applying them for human skin — a living ecosystem of billions of microbiomes.
Corporate angel network she1K injects over US$348K in 3 startups
Corporate angel network she1K has invested over US$348,000 in three startups, which participated in its C-shark Tank programme. The startups are marketplace startup Lumiere32 (Singapore), petcare startup Kibus (Spain), and medtech Nephtech (Singapore).
According to an article by DealStreetAsia, the top three startups were selected from 12 finalists of the C-shark Tank programme. According to she1K, startups were evaluated based on valuation appeal, defensibility, team, traction, business model and scalability.
Also Read: Singapore’s version of ‘Shark Tank’ will send the winner to the UK
She1k was founded by Christina Teo, founder of Startup Asia Women, with the aim to expose more corporate women to startups and angel investing. It seeks to push for more gender diversity on company boards, especially in the startups it invests in.
Indonesia-based edutech startup Pahamify raises US$150K funding from Y Combinator
Pahamify, an Indonesia-based edutech startup that provides lessons for senior high students, has received US$150,000 funding from Y Combinator.
The company said that the funds will be used to add new learning materials for junior high students and teachers to the platform, as reported by KrAsia.
“Our target is to remain innovative in helping Indonesian students reach their maximum potential and feel the thrill of learning,” said Pahamify CEO Rousyan Fikri.
Before this funding, Pahamify has also received an undisclosed amount in grants from YouTube and Y Combinator. Pahamify is listed among Y Combinator’s winter 2020 batch, together with two other Indonesian startups, Newman’s, and YukStay.
Founded by a YouTube science influencer in mid-2017, Pahamify combines science learning, film-making, and gamification to create high-quality educational content under its Pahamiframework. The platform uses animated videos, quizzes, and summaries to engage users.
Business
gojek denies laying off employees and merger with Grab, stating profitability
gojek has addressed the issue that it has recently laid employees off amid the company’s profitability. In a TechInAsia’s article, gojek CEO Andre Soelistyo reportedly told employees that the company’s transportation business has been profitable for “a few months” during an internal town hall meeting, while its food delivery and a payment gateway arm remain unprofitable.
During the town hall, Soelistyo also denied a recent report that said gojek has let go of over 100 mid- and lower-level employees.
In addition, Soelistyo said that news about merger talks between Grab and gojek, is false.
Recently, the company raised US$1.2 billion in fresh funding.
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Picture Credit: Nusantics
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