East, Saratoga back Indonesia e-commerce player Sirclo
Sirclo, an Indonesia-based e-commerce enabler that acquired mother-and-baby-focused online retailer Orami earlier this year, has received $36 million in funding led by East Ventures and Saratoga Investama Sedaya (SIS), a listed vehicle with ties to Saratoga Capital.
Additional contributions came from online travel platform Traveloka and Sinar Mas Land. East Ventures participated through its growth fund. This was previously a joint venture with Japan’s YJ Capital, and SMDV – the VC arm of Sinar Mas, one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates and also the parent of Sinar Mas Land – but East took over as sole manager in March.
Sirclo helps companies grow their business online and has worked with over 100,000 brands to date, including international names such as Unilever, Reckitt, L’Oréal, and Levi’s. The company posted a turnover of IDR3.3 trillion ($227 million) in 2020, buoyed by a fivefold surge in transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It offers an online store management platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), comprising a dashboard for website, marketplace, and chat commerce operations as well as a key opinion leader and micro-influencer business. For larger companies, there is an end-to-end e-commerce enablement solution.
Orami is part of the latter offering, combining parenting-related commerce, content, and community in a single ecosystem. Formed through the merger of two separate female-focused e-commerce platforms, Moxy and Bilna, Orami previously received VC funding from SMDV, among others.
The new funding will go towards developing Sirclo’s technological capabilities and accelerating retail digitalization across Indonesia, according to a statement. Growth initiatives include a financing solution for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
“Sirclo is a classic story of a start-up running a marathon. Founded in 2013, we think that Sirclo was ahead of its time. But we have a strong conviction as to how the founding team stays true to their vision. The COVID-19 crisis has made them stronger; revenue hit record high at hundreds of million dollars, and the company is near profitable,” said Wilson Cuaca, co-founder and managing partner of East.
Michael Soeryadjaya, president director of SIS, added that the investment represents an opportunity for Saratoga to strengthen its digital portfolio and capitalize on Indonesia’s e-commerce market.
SIS holds legacy assets that predate Saratoga Capital's institutional funds. It is controlled by Sandiago Uno and Edwin Soeryadjaya, co-founders of Saratoga. Michael Soeryadjaya is Edwin Soeryadjaya’s son.
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