SoftBank leads $100m round for Indonesia e-commerce player

Founded in 2009, Tokopedia claims to be Indonesia's leading online marketplace, acting as a platform that individuals and companies can use to open their own online stores. The company received seed capital from local conglomerate Indonusa Dwitama in order to launch the site and has now agreed five rounds of funding.

East Ventures provided the Series A round in 2010 and CyberAgent Ventures committed $700,000 in Series B funding the following year. Japanese internet player Beenos, formerly known as Netprice.com, invested in 2012 and then SoftBank Ventures Korea - which manages the $80 million SB Pan Asia Fund - provided another round last year.

The new injection of capital will go towards customer acquisition, hiring staff, and other initiatives designed to consolidate Tokopedia's market position. Representatives from SoftBank Internet and Media (SIMI) and Sequoia will join the company's board.

"We are very pleased to be working closely with Tokopedia. In the Asia region, the growth potential for online marketplaces particularly stands out in Indonesia, and since their founding, Tokopedia has seen remarkable growth with their innovative business model," Nikesh Arora, vice chairman of SoftBank and CEO of SIMI, said in a statement.

Indonesia's size, youthful demographics, rapid economic growth, urbanization and emerging middle class are a big draw for e-commerce players. As of 2013, 29% of the population, or 72.8 million people, were online. This is expected to reach 43.2% by 2017. The country's B2C e-commerce market is tipped to be worth $1.79 billion by the end of this year and $5.48 billion by 2017.

Of the 30 early-stage VC deals completed since the start of 2013, 10 have been in e-commerce companies and nine in internet content providers. They include an investment in Bukalapak, Indonesia's second-largest e-commerce marketplace, by 500 Startups and existing investor Gree Ventures, alongside two Japanese strategic players - price comparison site Aucfan.com and digital marketing firm IREP.

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• Topics
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• Southeast Asia
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• Indonesia
• SoftBank Capital
• SOFTBANK Ventures Korea
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• Southeast Asia