Tokopedia in talks to invest in agritech startup Sayurbox, source says

Tokopedia, the Jakarta-headquartered ecommerce unicorn, is in talks to invest in Indonesian agritech startup Sayurbox, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Tech in Asia.

We’ve reached out to both companies about this story, but Tokopedia declined to comment.

Sayurbox is a farm-to-table distribution platform for fresh produce in the country (sayur means vegetables in Indonesian). Through the startup’s website, customers can order fresh vegetables and fruits –  including organic and hydroponic produce – that are sourced directly from farmers, thus cutting out middlemen and any unfair pricing.

Co-founder and CEO Amanda Cole established Sayurbox in 2016. She had helped a farmer working her family’s land to optimize his process and eventually turn the land into a kale farm, with the produce sold directly to restaurants. One of her fellow founders, Rama Notowidigdo, was previously a member of Gojek’s product team.

Tokopedia backer East Ventures has invested in Sayurbox. Its other investors include Patamar Capital and Insignia Venture Partners.

Sayurbox was also among the first batch of participants in the Plug and Play accelerator program.

Tokopedia’s most recent fundraising round was in late 2018, securing US$1.1 billion from SoftBank and Alibaba. It invested in Indonesian fintech startup Ovo earlier this year, and was recently reported to be in talks to acquire wedding marketplace Bridestory.