Ex-Lazada execs’ startup bags $9m from Surge, others

BukuKas, an Indonesia-based digital ledger app for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), said it has raised US$9 million in a pre-series A funding round.

The round included participation from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Saison Capital, Speedinvest, S7V, January Capital, and Cambium Grove Capital, according to a statement. This brings BukuKas’ total capital raised to US$12 million.

BukuKas co-founders Lorenzo Peracchione (left) and Krishnan Menon / Photo credit: BukuKas

BukuKas was co-founded by CEO Krishnan Menon and chief operating officer Lorenzo Peracchione in 2019 after the two had worked together at Lazada Indonesia. The company designed its bookkeeping solution to help MSMEs monitor their sales, profit, and credit after spending months talking to small business owners in Indonesia to figure out the pain-points.

BukuKas said it plans to use the new funds to expand its product offerings and build on its market leadership in Indonesia, according to a statement.

What problem is it solving? According to the company, 73% of merchants in Indonesia are outside of Tier 1 cities, and few products and services are specifically built for them.

BukuKas aims to bridge this gap by offering a one-stop-shop to help merchants manage their financial and business operations. Its mobile app gives them better visibility on what drives their profits and cash flow, and its platform also sends WhatsApp reminders to customers when credit is due.

The startup claims that its solution can help small business owners achieve up to 20% in cost reduction and save two to four hours per day.

BukuKas is up against local rivals such as Credibook, which just raised an undisclosed amount of seed round led by Insignia Ventures Partners and Payfazz, and the East Ventures-backed BukuWarung.

There’s also India-based Khatabook, which just secured US$60 million in a series B round led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group.

How much traction has it gotten? The eight-month-old startup said it has amassed over 800,000 small merchants and retailers on its platform, growing by 25x with a compounded monthly growth rate of 54% since it completed its seed round in January.

By the end of this year, it plans to onboard “a few million” merchants on its platform and “tens of millions” of small businesses in Indonesia and across Southeast Asia in the long term.

It’s currently used in over 700 cities and districts in Indonesia, with more than US$1.3 billion in annualized value of transactions, BukuKas said in a statement.

What are its challenges? Although the company owes its success to its focus on product simplicity, Menon tells Tech in Asia that it’s difficult to find the right balance between maintaining this simplicity and introducing more features.