Key players in Indonesia’s agritech map falter as funding falls

Two years ago, Indonesia’s agritech startups were flourishing. But now, they are struggling.

After funding for the sector peaked at US$377.6 million in 2022, it plunged by nearly 3x to US$135.6 million in 2023, as per Tech in Asia data. Funding deals dropped to more than half that same year.

In 2024, the sector’s funding plummeted by 4x to US$33.2 million.

To make matters worse, Indonesian firm eFishery suspended its co-founders Gibran Huzaifah and Chrisna Aditya in December 2024 amid an ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities. Given that the company is the first and only agritech unicorn startup in Southeast Asia, this news could further deter investors from putting money into the sector this year. 

EFishery has so far attracted the largest funding and investors in Southeast Asia’s agritech sector, with a total backing of US$415 million.

In the aquaculture startup’s most recent raise in May 2023, it secured US$108 million in series D funding from backers that included SoftBank and Northstar Group. Other top investors were Temasek, Wavemaker Partners, and 500 Global.

But eFishery isn’t alone. Many other prominent Indonesian agritech startups have been wading through troubled waters, too.

Among them is TaniFund, a peer-to-peer lending platform operated by agritech firm TaniHub. It had its business license revoked for failing to meet minimum equity requirements and implement regulatory recommendations. TaniHub has also conducted at least two rounds of layoffs. 

Meanwhile, EdenFarm, which connects local farmers directly with businesses, implemented three rounds of workforce reduction between 2023 and 2024. 

Another struggling player is poultry startup Pitik, which reportedly ceased operations in July 2024. 

As previously analyzed by Tech in Asia, price volatility is one of the key issues contributing to the downturn of agritech startups. Commodity markets, particularly in food, are inherently volatile. This further affects companies’ already thin profit margins. 

See also: What ails agritech, and how can it come back?

It isn’t all doom and gloom, however. 

In October 2024, poultry startup Chickin raised US$20 million in a series A+ funding round – the biggest among Indonesian agritech startups in 2024.