Indonesia’s Qlapa raises seed round from Rocket Internet founders

Qlapa team, co-founder Benny Fajarai in the back, second from right

No time is squandered at Qlapa. The Indonesian Etsy-like marketplace for handmade products launched in November 2015. Today, just fresh into the new year, the startup announced a seed round from Global Founders Capital, Ideosource, and angel investor Budi Setiadharma.

Qlapa co-founder and CEO Benny Fajarai declined to share the size of the investment. He says the funds will be used to build a strong team and to grow supply and demand on the site. The three investors joining Qlapa’s journey each represent different values and networks, Benny explains.

Qlapa, Craftsvilla and Dawanda are now portfolio sisters

The most notable name in the lineup is Global Founders Capital (GFC), an international VC firm co-founded by Rocket Internet’s Samwer brothers. GFC has two prior investments in Indonesia: ticket booking site Taveloka and a marketplace for everything wedding-related, Bridestory. It also invested in handicraft marketplaces Dawanda in Germany and Craftsvilla in India.

Ideosource is a local VC firm with firm roots in Indonesia. It has numerous prior investments in this market. Its most recent blockbuster investment was a US$22 million round for electronics ecommerce site Bhinneka.

The third part of the investment comes from Angel investor Budi Setiadharma, chairman of the Indonesian conglomerate Astra International. Astra International is the largest automotive distributor and producer in the archipelago, having partnered with Japanese car manufacturers such as Toyota, Daihatsu, and Isuzu.

Qlapa isn’t Benny’s first venture. He previously built and exited Kreavi, a competition and job portal for site for creative industry professionals.

See: Qlapa, Indonesia’s marketplace for handicrafts, wants to avoid Etsy’s mistakes