East Ventures leads $1.5m round of ex-Tiket exec’s quick commerce firm

Bananas, an Indonesia-based quick commerce firm, has raised US$1 milli0n in its seed round led by East Ventures, which saw participation from SMDV, Arise, MDI Ventures, and other angel investors.

Separately, Bananas has secured US$500,000 from Y Combinator, pushing the total funds raised as part of its seed round to US$1.5 million.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Founded in late 2021, Bananas helps customers shop for groceries within 10 minutes via its tech-enabled microhubs, also known as dark stores, which are located near high-density residential neighborhoods.

The company was founded by Mario Gaw, former chief product officer at Tiket.com, along with Kristian Sinaulan, who served as the interim chief technology officer of Cashbac.

“We believe our tech solution will provide ease and save the hassle of grocery shopping, leading to more time that can be spent with loved ones,” said Sinaulan.

Bananas will use the latest investment to ramp up hiring at the company, mainly to support its operations including product, dark stores, inventory, and customer services. The firm aims to launch at least 50 dark stores that are primarily located in Jakarta and other Tier 1 cities in Indonesia in the short term.

See also: Will India’s 10-minute quick commerce model last?

The fresh financing comes amid a race among Indonesia’s ecommerce firms to deliver products within 10 to 15 minutes. The country’s e-grocery market is poised to be valued at nearly US$6 billion by 2025.

Astro, another Indonesia-based quick commerce startup, also recently raised US$27 million in a series A funding round led by Accel and Sequoia Capital India.

Quick commerce firms in other parts of Asia are also drawing investor attention. In December 2021, India-based Zepto raised US$100 million in its series C round led by Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund.