Indonesian lifestyle marketplace Bobobobo bags series A funding from Emtek

Indonesian lifestyle marketplace Bobobobo announced today the closing of a series A funding round led by PT Kreatif Media Karya (KMK), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emtek Group, Indonesia’s second largest media company (IDX:EMTK). The amount was undisclosed.

Bobobobo’s previous and current investors also include Ismaya Group, a lifestyle and entertainment group in Indonesia. KMK itself is the operator of Liputan6, one of Indonesia’s news, entertainment, and sports portals, as well as the recently launched Vidio, an online and mobile digital video site featuring user-generated content and Emtek’s original content.

Emtek sees the investment in Bobobobo as a way to enhance Indonesia’s creative economy with a focus on enabling homegrown designers and brands. Established in 2013, the company hopes to occupy a position as one of the best-known online lifestyle brands in the country. Bobobobo aims to position itself to win the young Indonesian market by “connecting design with everyone.” Bobobobo will leverage Emtek’s TV and other media assets to promote itself locally in the years to come.

See: Indonesia’s BukaLapak grabs series B funding from Emtek

“Our aim is to build an ecosystem where this community can flourish by building a marketplace that focuses on lifestyle to enable these businesses to sell online,” says Bobobobo founder and CEO Jimmy Akili.

“Today, we are working with some of the best talents and brands in the country, enabling them with ecommerce capabilities from technology platforms to creative services. My hope is that both Emtek and Bobobobo’s efforts will help boost creative entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses.”

Bobobobo counts more than 1,000 brands across seven categories: women, men, living, travel, food, wellness, and events. Although the startup did not divulge its number of monthly active users, Bobobobo claims to have grown its website visitors by 600 percent since January. In less than two years, Bobobobo also says it has seen a 20 percent monthly sales growth rate.

With the fresh funds, Bobobobo is looking to further grow its user base through collaboration with Emtek and other strategic partners. It hopes to reach a broader audience with online marketing, while also improving its suite of services for its merchants. The company is also aiming to improve its mobile initiatives.