GudangAda Startup Gets IDR 1.5 Trillion of Capital Injection

GudangAda, a B2B e-commerce marketplace startup, received an injection of USD 100 million or around IDR 1.5 trillion in a Series B funding round led by Asia Partners and Falcon Edge.

Previous investors Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC and Wavemaker participated in this funding round.

This new fund will be used to enlarge the GudangAda team, as well as strengthen the company’s ecosystem, such as logistics services, payment systems, marketing, data, and financial services.

GudangAda also plans to strengthen its position by developing artificial intelligence/AI technology in order to offer the best personalization services for MSME traders.

GudangAda CEO Stevensang explained, the company is very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with two world-class investors.

Asia Partners and Falcon Edge have an outstanding track record of supporting portfolio companies, especially in areas where we need to spur growth.

GudangAda is now well-positioned to empower all supply chain players, from manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers to retailers across Indonesia.

“With nearly half a million users in more than 500 tier-1 to tier-3 cities and developing a comprehensive monetization model with a complete ecosystem,” he said in an official statement, Thursday (14/07/2021).

GudangAda CFO JJ Ang said that investors’ great interest in the Series B funding round is proof of GudangAda’s success in creating added value for customers while building a capital-efficient platform capable of generating growth.

GudangAda’s growth can be seen from its success in monetizing the market since the first quarter of 2020 — clear evidence of the benefits of our services and capital-efficient business model.

Doing Business Expansion

Since its launch in mid-2020, GudangAda logistics services have doubled every two months. Implementing the asset-light and capital-efficient business concept, GudangAda has collaborated with vehicle and warehouse business owners, including the UMKM members of GudangAda.

Apart from this collaboration, GudangAda also offers dynamic transportation and warehouse management service system to make it easier for partners to digitize their business.

Offering a one-stop solution to Indonesian MSMEs, GudangAda has expanded its product categories to the pharmaceuticals, packaging, household appliances, and stationery segments.

The expansion of this category is driven through end-to-end (E2E) partnerships with principals, distributors, wholesalers and retailers in the supply chain. Since the expansion was carried out in early 2021, tens of thousands of MSMEs have transacted in this new category.

Since the end of 2020, GudangAda has empowered and connected principals with MSMEs throughout Indonesia, so that they can continue to expand their distribution coverage.

To date, GudangAda has officially partnered with more than 65 principals, including local, national, and multinational principals, such as Sido Muncul, Sasa, and Reckitt Benckiser. GudangAda plans to expand its cooperation with more principals in the future.

Becoming the Largest E-commerce for MSMEs with the Best Metrics

Currently, GudangAda attracts 500 thousand SMEs in Indonesia, involving more than three million workers. GudangAda’s net merchandise value (NMV) is US$ 6 billion in less than three years.

Quoted from Yieldify, NMV is the result obtained after subtracting all costs and expenses from the transaction value aka gross merchandise value (GMV) for a certain period.

Previously, SVP Business Strategy & Revenue Growth of GudangAda Hansel said, monthly GMV reached US$ 600 million or around IDR 8.7 trillion during 2020.

“Business is targeted to grow fivefold by the end of this year,” said Hansel, late last month (28/6). In addition, GudangAda’s accumulated investment value is less than US$ 35 million. This means, the capital efficiency ratio is 170 times.

Falcon Edge Co-Founder Navroz D Udwadia added, GudangAda is the largest e-commerce marketplace for Indonesian MSMEs with the best metrics.

“Our research and conversations with principals, wholesalers, and retailers have convinced us of GudangAda’s return on investment (ROI) and the benefits it offers to the ecosystem,” he said.