2014 was a pivotal year for Indonesia’s tech scene. Tech in Asia readers were innundated with news about SoftBank and Sequoia Capital’s record-breaking investment in Tokopedia, along with on-going scoops about Jakarta’s hackers protecting the presidential election with the public online vote counter Kawal Pemilu.
On the other hand, the government blocked Vimeo, Imgur, and Reddit, while also removing information technology studies from the local academic curriculum (then putting it back). Indonesia’s Bakrie Group invested US$25 million into Silicon Valley-based social network Path, while local media KapanLagi and Fimela merged to form the largest online media network in Indonesia.
But what about the bootstrapping startups that have been slogging away day-in and day-out this year? Surely they deserve some credit for not just surviving, but thriving in 2014. So, in no particular order, here are 10 bootstrapping startups in Indonesia that have gained notable traction or just have awesome ideas.
Hipwee
Hipwee is Indonesia’s social news site that produces list articles for the archipelago’s young urbanite demographic. Similar to BuzzFeed, Hipwee’s content covers entertainment, relationships, travel, and inspirational topics, most often accompanied by pictures and GIFs. The site’s founder Lauri Lahi claims Hipwee is clocking more than 3.3 million pageviews and over one million unique visits per month. The site launched in April but the company is not monetizing yet that we know of.
Mahoni
Mahoni is a Surabaya-based mobile app development firm that’s responsible for Southeast Asia’s most expensive digital law text library Themis Reader. The company has been around for several years, but to date has yet to announce a single hint of venture capital funding. The company is well-known for its variety of ereader apps and products, and Mahoni founder Ginting Sadtyono says the firm’s Buku Sekolah Elektronik (Electronic School Book) app serves more than 50 million users in Indonesia.
RumahDijual
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