Bukalapak partners with Standard Chartered to offer financial services

Ecommerce marketplace Bukalapak announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Standard Chartered Bank to enable access to financial services for Indonesian consumers.

Bukalapak CEO Rachmat Kaimuddin / Photo credit: Bukalapak

Through the partnership, the companies will offer an array of financial services through Bukalapak’s ecosystem, which has a total of 100 million registered users and 13.5 million sellers.

The Indonesia-based company has landed funding from Standard Chartered as it makes progress toward raising US$200 million to finance its expansion in the country, reported Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The report also noted that existing investors Naver Corp. and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund are also close to signing a deal for additional funding.

“Commerce and financial services are crucial aspects of the well-being of society. Thus, the partnership increases our spirit to create a fair economy in Indonesia,” said Bukalapak CEO Rachmat Kaimuddin.

The development comes after the ecommerce unicorn launched a new fintech business unit and mutual funds selling agent called Buka Investasi Bersama in October 2020.

“We are confident that our partnership with one of Indonesia’s first unicorns and leading ecommerce players will enable us to co-create a solution that drives financial inclusion in Indonesia,” said Andrew Chia, cluster CEO of Indonesia and ASEAN markets at Standard Chartered.

In November 2020, US-based tech titan Microsoft struck a partnership deal with Bukalapak for a number of technology projects that Kaimuddin said “will transform technology-driven commerce and operations solutions in Indonesia.”

See also: Why are Gojek, Bukalapak, and Tokopedia gunning for digital gold?

According to a McKinsey report, online commerce sales in Indonesia is expected to hit US$65 billion by 2022.

Update (January 15, 11:54 am): This article was updated to include a report, which states that Bukalapak has landed funding from Standard Chartered, along with details of a deal with existing investors Naver Corp. and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund.