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Hello readers,
Yesterday, we kickstarted Tech in Asia Conference, where I had a ton of fun speaking to founders.
While doing so, I realised a couple of them didn’t know about this thing that we’re doing. So here’s a small announcement: We’re making fundraising slightly easier by compiling a list of Asian startups that are currently raising.
Thousands of subscribers, who include investors and founders, view the regularly updated list every week. So, if you run or know a startup that’s on the lookout for investors, simply fill in this form to get your company on the list.
Today we look at,
- The boom of online stores in Indonesia
- The dating app built to improve women’s experiences
- Other newsy highlights such as a teen selling his startup and fundraising by a silk supplier
PREMIUM SUMMARY
On the rise: The startups helping merchants leave the nest and set up shop
It’s easy to start selling on marketplaces such as Shopee and Lazada but more and more store owners are instead choosing to build their own independent online stores. This has driven Indonesian companies like bookkeeping app BukuWarung and decacorn Gojek to launch Shopify-like platforms and enter the archipelago’s competitive ecommerce enablement space.
- Same same but different: While we refer to them as “Shopify-like” platforms, they are actually quite different. While Shopify charges a monthly subscription for users to create an online store, most Indonesian players offer their basic web store solution for free and only charge for premium upgrades or transaction fees.
- Mobile is king: Some of these Indonesian platforms such as Tokko (owned by digital ledger BukuKas) and BukuWarung’s Tokoko, are built specifically for mobile devices. This means that users can set up and manage their stores entirely on their smartphones. This strategy helped Tokko onboard 1.2 million sellers within six months of its launch.
- Limitations: These eommerce platforms will find it difficult to match up to the traffic of big online marketplaces. To combat this issue, startups such as Sirclo and PowerCommerce are offering omnichannel solutions that enable merchants to sell through their own websites and on different marketplaces via a single platform. However, this solution is often too expensive for new and smaller businesses.
Read more: Can Indonesia’s Shopify-like startups usurp ecommerce giants?
STARTUP SPOTLIGHT
Swiping right in the name of love
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