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In focus
In this edition, we cover:
- How Toco is gaining momentum amid Tokopedia and TikTok Shop tumultuous integration
- The MBA-holders at the reins of Southeast Asia’s unicorns
- The US$88 million funding round of Philippines-based Salmon
Hello reader,
When I was in high school, Tokobagus was a popular ecommerce platform in Indonesia. Its ads frequently aired on TV at a time when Tokopedia was a newly launched and relatively unknown marketplace.
Tokobagus was later acquired and transformed into OLX, which focused on the classifieds business. Eventually, the Indonesian ecommerce scene was overtaken by Shopee, Tokopedia, Bukalapak, and Lazada.
Now, Tokobagus co-founder Arnold Sebastian Egg is back in the game. Toco, his newly launched marketplace, has been taking advantage of the messy Tokopedia-TikTok Shop integration.
Many sellers have migrated to Toco because of its lifetime no administrative fee policy. That’s a reasonable shift, given that other ecommerce platforms have been steadily increasing their admin fees.
But attracting many sellers is pointless if their customers don’t come on board, too. As such, the real challenge for Toco lies in driving transactions for merchants.
For today’s interesting data point, we learned that 40% of unicorns in Southeast Asia are led by founders with MBAs. Who are they and which companies do they helm? Check out the full data story below.
Jofie Yordan, journalist
The Big Story
Toco was a ghost town. Then Tokopedia’s sellers showed up
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Toco’s early momentum reflects how seller frustration with Tokopedia-TikTokShop’s chaotic integration is creating space for alternatives.
A data story you shouldn’t miss
Connect with Kevin Aluwi, Alex Hungate, Gita Wirjawan, Hans Patuwo, and more!
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