BRI Ventures, a corporate VC firm under Indonesia’s state-owned Bank BRI, today announced it has launched a new tech fund that’s targeting to secure US$21.2 million for its first close.
Called Sembrani Nusantara, which means “unicorn archipelago,” the fund will invest in Indonesia-based companies operating in education, agro-maritime, retail, transportation, and healthcare sectors, according to a statement.
With over US$250 million in assets under management, BRI Ventures has made several investments in the fintech sector, including bill aggregator Ayopop, e-wallet LinkAja, and peer-to-peer financing platform Modalku, among others.
BRI Ventures launches OJK-licensed tech venture fund Sembrani Nusantara / Photo credit: BRI Ventures
With a “value over valuation” philosophy and the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the new fund will focus on companies that can survive in times of crisis.
Over the past three or four months, many Indonesian startups have either laid off employees or resized their business to weather the Covid-19 crisis. Most recently, ride-hailing unicorn Gojek announced that it’s letting go of 430 employees or 9% of its staff as part of its “long-term response” to the pandemic.
Some startups, like budget hotel aggregator Airy and food logistics startup Stoqo, unfortunately had to shut down.
According to a recent survey by KPMG, VC firms will evaluate deals more closely amid the crisis, factoring in the stability and flexibility of supply chain, anticipated product or service demand, workforce management practices, use of advanced tech, and customer retention practices.
“At the end of the day, what is important is that startups have good business fundamentals from day one and are able to create real value in the local economy,” BRI Ventures said in the statement.
The launch of Sembrani Nusantara, which is locally incorporated and licensed by Indonesia’s financial services authority (OJK), is quite significant for the country, the firm said.
In the past, setting up a locally incorporated venture fund wasn’t a viable option due to reasons such as taxation. To date, all the VC firms operating in the archipelago are incorporated offshore, mostly in Singapore, or invested off the balance sheet of their parent company, BRI Ventures explained.
Editing by Charmaine de Lazo
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