Indonesian social commerce startup Chilibeli secures $10m in series A round

Chilibeli, a community-based social commerce startup headquartered in Jakarta, announced that it has secured US$10 million in a series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Golden Gate Ventures, Sequoia’s Surge accelerator program, Kinesys Group, and Alto Partners participated in the round.

Photo credit: Chilibeli

Launched last year, the startup connects farmers, suppliers, and consumers through its network of agents to bring fresh products to households. Its agents, or mitras, are mostly housewives who earn extra income through the service.

Chilibeli said it empowers housewives to be microentrepreneurs. The agents, who are called Mitra Chilibeli, create their own community in the startup’s app, through which their friends can make purchases. The company delivers the goods to the agents, who then manage the last-mile delivery themselves.

According to the company, 20% of the expenditure of Indonesia’s households go into groceries. And housewives, who are typically in control of family spending, are looking for opportunities to earn a living.

“The Chilibeli team is tapping into something that other platforms to date haven’t been able to successfully leverage: the trusted social circle,” said Justin Hall, a partner at Golden Gate Ventures.

Alex Feng, the CEO of Chilibeli, said that the company will use the funds to strengthen its communities in Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, and Depok. It will also expand its reach to Bogor and Bekasi. Part of the funds will also go toward Chilibeli’s user interface and experience and warehouse in Depok.

To date, the company said it has gained 150% month-on-month growth and created more than 300 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs for its Mitra Chilibeli in Indonesia.

Chilibeli was founded by Feng, Damon Yue, and Matt Li who have previously worked at companies such as Alibaba and Lazada.