Indonesia-based fintech company BukuWarung, helping micro-SMEs (MSMEs) digitize their business, announced on Thursday to have raised $60 million in Series A funding. The round was led by the US-based VC firm Valar Ventures, early investors in global fintech unicorns Wise and N26, and Goodwater Capital, which has invested in Coupang, Monzo, and Xendit. Other investors in the oversubscribed round include existing investors and notable angel investors such as former GoPay chief executive officer Aldi Haryopratomo and Victor Jacobsson, founder, Klarna as well as partners from SoftBank, Trihill Capital.
The funding marks the largest Series A round raised by an MSME player globally and brings BukuWarung’s total funding to date to approximately $80 million.
The funds will be used to enhance its technology and product capabilities across its core accounting, digital payments, and commerce products – including building a robust payments infrastructure to solve deeper use cases for Indonesian merchants, such as QR payments, financial services, and more.
“Small businesses are central to Indonesia's economy and culture, yet they are forced to use products which don't cater to their needs. The pandemic has made this more apparent than ever. The entire team at BukuWarung is dedicated to helping merchants adapt to an online world of commerce and have established themselves as the clear market leader through relentless execution. They close the digital gap for millions of merchants across Indonesia and lead the charge towards a digital infrastructure that is more comprehensive and accessible than anything seen in the market. BukuWarung is a compelling opportunity and we are proud to call them our first investment into Indonesia,” stated James Fitzgerald, founding partner, Valar Ventures.
Founded in 2019, BukuWarung’s mission is to digitize Indonesia’s 60 million MSMEs – a fulcrum of the nation’s economy as they contribute over 60 per cent of GDP and employ 97 per cent of the workforce.
“BukuWarung is already a market leader in MSME digital payments growing in a cost-effective and sustainable manner since its inception. This investment will further help us build an operating system for MSMEs, creating a positive socio-economic impact across Indonesia as the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. This vote of confidence shown by our investors will be instrumental in driving our mission to digitize MSMEs – especially during one of the most challenging global crises in recent history – across Indonesia and later, the region beyond,” said Abhinay Peddisetty, co-founder and chief executive officer, BukuWarung.
