JALA Tech Announces Funding Raise Of 85.7 Billion Rupiah

JALA Tech, a startup developer of aquaculture technology tools announced the acquisition of funding worth IDR 85.7 billion or 6 million USD.

A number of venture capitalists who focused on impact investment from several countries were involved in this round, including Real Tech Fund (from Japan), The Meloy Fund (managed by Deliberate Capital from the United States), and Mirova (from France).

Jala has previously also been supported by a number of investors, including Hatch Blue and 500 Startups since 2019.

Liris Maduningtyas, the Co-Founder & CEO of Jala Tech said, “We’re delighted to receive this new funding, which will play an important role in helping us achieve to develop new ways to improve this industry and give impact on society.”

As is known, the company develops technology in the form of hardware and software to help farmers increase their production. Some of these including micro bubble generators, water quality measuring tools, business recording applications to analysis.

These devices can be connected and operated through applications with their Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities.

One of the target markets for JALA’s products is shrimp farmers. He said that Indonesia is one of the 5 largest shrimp producers in the world along with China, India, Ecuador and Vietnam.

Many problems related to shrimp farming remain unresolved, such as pollution caused by the release of agricultural wastes in rivers and seas, inefficient value chains, disease outbreaks and mortality, low added value for farmers, and traceability of products that are limited, and transparency.

Launch Regional Expansion

Previously, in mid-2020, JALA had solidified its intention to enter the regional market and started their first branch office in Thailand. Liris said that since 2019 the company has expanded its business to Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Ecuador. 

Users have now reached more than 6 thousand farmers and more than 100 IoT hardware devices are used as of July last year.

Of course this achievement is a breath of fresh air for the local cultivation industry. With technology and digital-based innovation, it is hoped that the existing potential can be pushed more optimally.

Other startups have also introduced innovations in the aquaculture sector, such as eFisherywith its automatic fish feeder. With good investor support, eFishery is now also entering the funding and online grocery business with the hope of providing solutions from upstream to downstream.

Purworejo Shrimp Farmers Implement Cultivation Digitization with Jala Tech

Vannamei shrimp farmers in Purworejo Regency apply digitalization in aquaculture. Farmers use digital applications to monitor cultivation, harvest, and post-harvest. The farmers received assistance from Jala Tech, a start-up provider of digital platforms for the aquaculture sector. 

“The data turned out to be so important, including in the aquaculture sector. Using the data, we can analyze the condition of the pond, the problems that occur and the solutions to overcome them,” said Chief of Operations (COO) Jala Tech Andi Nusa Patria, Thursday (11/25/2021).

According to him, digitalization is important in the aquaculture sector because shrimp cultivation is complicated and requires intensive monitoring. Entrepreneurs also often do not live in the location of the pond.

It is said, Jala Tech is an application created to facilitate shrimp farmers in checking the environmental conditions of the pond. The application is combined with a hardware device called Baruno which is used as a test tool as well as data input.

Applications that utilize Internet of Things (IoT) technology to process various incoming data. Farmers can input data on salt content, temperature, pH, and oxygen levels in pond water. In addition, Jala Tech can also analyze data on biological conditions, water chemistry, shrimp weight sampling, and the amount of feed.