East Ventures backs Indonesia auto platform

Japan’s Genesia Ventures and Australia’s Denali Venture Partners also contributed. East, Denali, and Indonesian e-commerce company Bukalapak provided a seed round in 2017. The fresh capital will be used for product and technology developments.

Mobilkamu focuses on the new car market in Indonesia, which is seen as dominated by traditional dealers and in need of new financing options for customers. The company also hopes to exploit the fragmented nature of an industry dominated by an overwhelming range of online classifieds websites, many of which post the same listings with different terms.

Mobilkamu has established partnerships with more than 80 car dealers across the Jakarata area, as well as several financial partners, including Bussan Auto Finance, BCA Finance, Mega Auto Finance, Mandiri Tunas Finance, and Bank Jasa Jakarta. In 2019, the company plans to open new branches in different cities across the country.

“Through proprietary technology, Mobilkamu has introduced a seamless experience of buying a new car by removing frictions of end consumer interacting with too many parties,” Melisa Irene, a partner at East, said in a statement. “This also creates high values for car sales agents, financing companies, and car dealerships to operate more efficiently thus making the price more affordable.”

Last year, East set up a $150 million fund targeting tech companies in Southeast Asia alongside Indonesia’s Sinar Mas Group and Yahoo Japan. The firm launched a $30 million fund in 2017 that focuses on Indonesia after raising $27.5 million for a pan-Southeast Asia vehicle.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Early-stage
• Technology
• East Ventures
• automobiles
• TMT
• Financial Services
• Indonesia