Alleviating rural Indonesia’s FMCG issues

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Hello readers,

I ran out of milk for my cereal a couple of days ago. I’m ashamed to admit that, instead of taking the 20 minutes to stroll to and from my neighborhood supermarket to get a new bottle, I decided to just bug my mum to get more the next time she does the grocery shopping.

We can be pretty spoiled in Singapore, especially when compared to our neighbors in Indonesia. Due to poor infrastructure, many Indonesians living in the archipelago’s rural areas have to jump through hoops to even get basic necessities such as rice, sugar, and oil.

But there’s hope on the horizon – a new startup is focusing its efforts on serving the country’s Tier 3 and 4 cities, making it easy for those living there to get what they need, conveniently and quickly.

(By the way, I still haven’t gotten more milk.)

Today, we look at:

• The startup that’s stepping up to the FMCG challenge in rural Indonesia
• An India-based fintech firm closes a US$10 million series B round
• Other newsy highlights such as Alibaba’s latest moves in the cloud and the Chinese government’s new regulations on the tech sector

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Solving rural Indonesia’s FMCG puzzle

Indonesia is home to many large and innovative tech startups, but to date, none have been able to fully overcome the issues that the country’s poor infrastructure and sheer geographic scale have posed. In a country with quite a few tech unicorns, it’s concerning that people living in rural areas still face hurdles to simply get basic necessities. That’s the problem that new startup Dagangan is trying to fix.

• Infrastructure inequalities: Some villages don’t have running water or reliable electricity, and large trucks carrying necessities may not be able to enter because of the poorly paved, narrow roads.
• Hub, meet spoke: Dagangan supplies and delivers fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) to rural communities through an Android app and partnerships with community leaders. The startup’s main focus is to create a microdistribution network with a hub-and-spoke model that focuses on small villages.
• Leaders of the key variety: Key opinion leaders – such as village heads or local entrepreneurs – play a major role in bringing their communities onto the platform, helping with new user acquisition, sales, marketing, last-mile delivery, and logistics efficiency. They also bridge any potential cultural issues that may arise in the area and give guidance as Dagangan expands to other rural places.

Read more: A startup looks to become Indonesia’s next big consumer goods brand

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

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