Indonesian marketplace BukaLapak receives series B funding from local media group Emtek

Indonesia’s second largest media company Emtek Group announced today it made a series B investment of an undisclosed amount in local online marketplace BukaLapak. BukaLapak founder Achmad Zaky says the fresh funds will be used to grow the startup’s staff and adopt new marketing strategies to spread brand awareness. Zaky also hopes to acquire more Indonesian SMEs as vendors on its marketplace. This could be interpreted as an early step for BukaLapak (a consumer-to-consumer marketplace) to make the move toward business-to-consumer sales.

Sutanto Hartono, CEO of Emtek, confirms that his company’s investment is limited to a minority stake in the company, and that all operational control will remain with Zaky and the current directors. Regarding Indonesia’s startup scene as a whole, Hartono says Emtek will focus on two specific items for now. The first is creating its own startup called Vidio, a site that lets Indonesians stream TV, movies, and entertainment for free. The second is to work closely with BukaLapak on synergy strategies. Tech in Asia is reaching out to learn more about Vidio.

Bukalapak Dapat Suntikan Dana dari EMTEK Group https://t.co/04yp9QkMCW pic.twitter.com/Ey3OWiOswd

— Lintas.Me (@LintasME) February 4, 2015

Another objective of this investment is to provide a boost for Emtek’s as-seen-on-TV online shop O Shop. Hartono claims that O Shop will become a merchant on BukaLapak’s marketplace. He also says the Emtek’s role as a media company can help BukaLapak increase traffic to its site. He adds that the online marketplace business is a very strategic sector in Indonesia, one which Emtek looks forward to exploring further.

BukaLapak received its series A investment last February from price comparison site Aucfan, IREP, 500 Startups, and GREE Ventures. Zaky says BukaLapak facilitated more than Rp 1 trillion (US$80 million) in transactions during 2014 with the highest sales occuring in the gadgets, fashion, and hobbies verticals. BukaLapak’s merchants reached 163,000 sellers at the beginning of this year. Tech in Asia is also reaching out to Achmad Zaky for more in-depth coverage on this story.

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Source: Tech in Asia Indonesia

Editing by Mary-Anne Lee and Paul Bischoff