Indonesian Fishery Startup Aruna Gets a Funding of US$ 35 Million

Aruna, a fishery startup from Indonesia, received an injection of US$ 35 million or equivalent to IDR 500 billion.

This funding was led by Prosus and East Ventures (Growth Fund), accompanied by other investors including AC Ventures, Vertex, SIG, MDI and others. This is the largest series A funding for the agritech and maritime sector.

As an illustration, as the largest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia’s sea area covers 2/3 of the total area of ​​Indonesia, around 5.8 million square kilometers.

In the sea there is potential for marine resources in the form of fisheries. The Indonesian sea has a large number of sustainable potential, which is 6.4 million tons per year.

Aruna is a technology startup that provides a platform to make it easier for fishermen to sell their products directly to global and domestic markets.

Aruna is Committed to Improving the Living Standards of the Fisherman Community

Carrying the vision of “Sea for All”, Aruna is committed to improving the living standards of the fishing community by encouraging fair and responsible fish trade practices for the long-term sustainability of the fishing industry.

Chief Sustainability Officer Aruna Utari Octavianty said this funding is expected to contribute to economic recovery in coastal areas, especially communities affected by the pandemic.

“With the existing funding, Aruna expands its reach to be able to embrace more fishermen join, carry out more massive technology development, increase the number of teams and new job opportunities as well as carry out initiatives that focus on sustainability issues,” said Utari in a press release, Monday. (9/8).

This funding will be used to expand the national market and strengthen the supply chain. In addition, this funding will also be used to support the addition of customers in new markets and add commodities.

“We will improve our technology and data analytics capabilities,” said Farid Naufal Aslam, CEO and Co-Founder of Aruna. Currently, Aruna has partnered with 21,300 fishermen in 13 provinces.

Coming to Reduce the Gap

According to him, in the fisheries and maritime sectors, Aruna is here to reduce the gap between the purchase price for the final consumer and the selling price for small fishermen.

The long supply chain causes small fishermen to be forced to reduce their selling prices in order to remain affordable for final consumers, thus affecting their welfare in coastal villages.

Aruna builds a platform that consolidates all aspects of the fishing industry, from aggregators for supply and purchase to financing so as to reduce this price gap, while improving the standard of living of fishermen.

Currently, Aruna has built more than 40 fishing community centers spread across 13 provinces, the majority in coastal villages that have not been reached by similar fishing companies. There, Aruna also creates jobs as a catch processor by empowering women in coastal areas.

Having the Vision to Transform the Fishery Supply Chain in Indonesia

Founded in 2016 by Farid Naufal Aslam, Indraka Fadhlillah and Utari Octavianty, Aruna has a vision to transform the fisheries supply chain in Indonesia to meet the ever-surging global market demand with technological innovation.

If initially the fishing industry had a long process, the technology from Aruna became a supply chain aggregator from upstream to downstream, so that it was integrated with fishermen.

“We support a sustainable and fair fishing industry for all,” said Utari Octavianty as Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO).

According to him, start-ups will combine technology with local insight and also case studies from the global market, while preserving ecosystems, empowering coastal communities and meeting demands from the global market.

“This sector will grow rapidly. Aruna’s vision is in line with our vision to build sustainable fisheries and marine economy that will have a long-lasting positive impact,” said Roderick Purwana, Managing Partner of East Ventures.