Indonesia’s Qlapa scores series A to scale handicrafts marketplace

Photo credit: Qlapa.

Indonesian marketplace for handmade products Qlapa today announced it has closed its series A round, led by Aavishkaar Frontier Funds, an impact investor from India. Founders of existing backer Kapan Lagi Networks also put in a “minor” investment. The sum was undisclosed.

“In our seed round, we were trying to achieve product-market fit and get initial traction in the local market. In the past one and half year, numbers have supported our thesis in the market potential,” said founder Benny Fajarai.

Benny built Qlapa in 2015, seeing a US$20 billion opportunity in the handicrafts market.

Today Qlapa is competing with other startups, including KU KA and Craftline.

But Benny said Qlapa’s value lies in the strict curation standards it imposes on sellers, which guarantee the uniqueness of items on the site, as well as its rule against reselling. “By cutting down the distribution chain, buyers can get the best price before any major markups by resellers.”

He said Qlapa has over 4,000 curated crafters, selling 65,000 handmade items on the platform. Fashion items like batik clothes and home decor products are its best sellers. The site takes a 10 percent commission from each successful sale, a small number considering the margins made by sellers, said Benny.

With the new funds, the startup will double its team from 35 and scale its operations nationwide.