Indonesia’s GudangAda raises $25.4m from Sequoia, Alpha JWC, Wavemaker

GudangAda, an Indonesian business-to-business e-marketplace, announced that it has secured US$25.4 million in a series A funding round led by Sequoia India and Alpha JWC Ventures, bringing its total capital raised to US$35 million.

Existing investor Wavemaker Partners also participated in the round.

GudangAda founder and CEO Stevensang / Photo credit: GudangAda

The series A funding comes less than three months after the startup raised US$10.5 million in seed money from Alpha JWC Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, and Pavilion Capital.

GudangAda will use the new funds to continue investing in its technology platform, launch new business initiatives, and bolster its team, it said in a statement.

Launched in 2018, the Jakarta-based company connects merchants, wholesalers, and mom and pop retailers in the fast-moving consumer goods space to meet and transact online.

GudangAda said its platform can help merchants grow with faster inventory turnover, more optimal pricing, wider product selection, and better buyer-seller discovery, as well as improved order management and enhanced analytics.

“B2B supply chains in many emerging markets face challenges around working capital limitations, inefficient inventory management, and manual operational processes,” said Abheek Anand, managing director at Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore. “GudangAda is building a digital ecosystem to transform the massive and highly fragmented FMCG market in Indonesia.”

Today, wholesalers and retailers in the archipelago are being pushed to adopt digital solutions to cope with the limitations set by the Covid-19 pandemic. The startup said the new funds will enable it to support the supply chain.

It has already launched a pilot logistics service to help maintain the availability of essential products in the local supply chain. The service, which currently operates in Greater Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Medan, and Lampung, will later be expanded to cover other major cities nationwide within the next few months, the company said.

GudangAda assured that its business continues to show growth despite the pandemic. It is maintaining a no lay-off policy and continues to recruit talent.

The startup also said it’s targeting 7% to 10% of the nation’s large retailer base for its next phase of growth. According to a statement, it currently connects over 50,000 large retailers and covers nearly 100% of FMCG wholesalers across 500 cities in Indonesia.