Sirka Completes Initial Funding of 37 Billion Rupiah

After securing funding from Sequoia Capital India, Y Combinator and Tim Lee (ex-Sequoia) early September 2021, Sirka.io announced further investments for their initial funding round. The total value raised was $2.6 million or 37.4 billion Rupiah, this round was led by AC Ventures and the Wavemaker Group.

The new investor involved is Maudy Ayunda. This is also the second funding for a digital startup after previously investing in the online grocery Segari platform. The fresh funds are planned to be used to build a health community.

The company also plans to enrich the features and offerings on the platform, conduct research and partnerships with medical advisors and F&B, as well as drug supply providers to increase the success of health recovery and pre-chronic weight loss programs.

It’s currently focusing on subscription-based weight loss counseling. The company is also  exploring drugs and other long-term support supplies to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes.

The company believes in the power of technology, science, information and human empathy to simplify the personal wellness journey.

“That’s why we created a low-cost approach to help people understand and optimize their health through home assessments, personalized action plans and ongoing monitoring, starting with weight care,” said Sirka Co-Founder & CEO Rifanditto Adhikara.

Health Problems in Indonesia

Currently, Sirka offers a subscription-based weight loss counseling service. Going forward, Sirka will focus on medicines and other long-term support supplies to treat chronic diseases, such as diabetes.

He continued, based on Food and Nutrition Journal data, 1 in 3 adults in Indonesia is obese. This figure is relatively high when compared to the global obesity rate of 13 percent.

The obesity rate in adults in Indonesia has doubled over the last two decades, and Indonesia is currently the 4th country in Southeast Asia with the highest prevalence of obesity.

“That’s why we built an affordable platform to help people understand and optimize their health through an at-home assessment system, personalized action plans, and ongoing progress monitoring, starting with weight care,” he explained.

He also revealed Sirka had a founding team that was very well worth the investment, they tackled the vast market opportunity for obesity, they were a gateway to health complications.

The team came from various well-known institutions, such as Grab, McKinsey, Stanford, INSEAD, and Harvard. They have about 10+ years of combined experience in product, consumer technology operations and health education in the region.

Application Of Relevant Tools

Since its launch in April 2021, Sirka.io has had user growth of up to 60% every month. The exclusive program is claimed to have helped more than a thousand of its members to prevent or manage chronic diseases through personal weight loss.

They have also served in 32 cities with a total of 10 nutritionists and nutritionists. To align the company’s mission and vision, Sirka.io does not recruit partners, but directly hires nutritionists and nutritionists as employees.

According to them, such a method is more efficient for the company now and in the future. Previously, the concept offered by Sirka was still widely offered offline to users who wanted to get personal nutrition consultations.

Sirka.io gives the option to do all these activities online directly to qualified nutritionist partners. With a mission to help individuals live healthier lives, Sirka products are made more affordable and convenient.

Direct communication with healthcare professionals enables regular contact and guidance, ultimately providing users with relevant costs for weight loss solutions.

“Starting with a nutritionist who can be contacted at the right times throughout the day via their app. We love Sirka’s approach to leveraging technology and knowledge for functional well-being that is within the reach of millions of people,” said Adrian Li, Founder & Managing Partner of AC Ventures.