Bukalapak co-founder Fajrin Rasyid steps down to join state telco

Bukalapak co-founder and president director Fajrin Rasyid has been appointed digital director at the state’s largest telecom operator, Telkom Indonesia. He replaces Faisal Rochmad Djoemadi. A statement from the ecommerce provider confirmed that Rasyid has left the company.

“I am very grateful for the new mandate given to me,” Rasyid said. “In these 10 years together with Bukalapak, we have inspired young Indonesians to continue to dream and work hard. Now is the time for me to help Indonesia advance further, with a focus on developing Indonesian telecommunications, together with Telkom.”

Bukalapak co-founder and president director Fajrin Rasyid / Photo credit: Bukalapak

Bukalapak CEO Rachmat Kaimuddin said he hopes that the concept of digitizing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), created by Fajrin and the other co-founders, will continue to be fundamental for the development of MSMEs in Indonesia.

“I am sure Fajrin is the right person to occupy this position and he can continue his aspirations to contribute to Indonesia on a much larger scale,” Kaimuddin said.

At the age of 34, Rasyid has become the youngest director at Telkom. He will hand over his functional duties and responsibilities as president of Bukalapak to the startup’s board of directors.

Together with Ahmad Zaky and Nugroho Herucahyono, Rasyid co-founded Bukalapak in 2011 and developed it into a unicorn and one of the biggest online marketplaces in Indonesia. In 2019, Bukalapak was valued at over US$2.5 billion, backed by global investors that include Indonesia’s EMTEK group, Singapore’s GIC, Ant Financial, Naver, and VC firm 500 Startups.

Rasyid acted as the chief financial officer prior to being appointed as president of Bukalapak. Before that, he worked at the Boston Consulting Group and was co-founder and CEO of digital agency Suitmedia from 2011 until 2014.

This report was first published on KrAsia.