Indonesia: Indonesia Tech Deals Vol. 3 | January 2022

Despite of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, start-up and technology investments in Indonesia remain excited during the last quarter of 2021. During the period of October – December 2021, investment deals in the fintech sector dominated the business, followed by those in e-commerce, which remains as an attractive sector in Indonesia throughout 2021. This includes the recent interest of investors in grocery shopping platforms such as Astro.

In continuation of our previous Indonesia Tech Deals series published in July 2021 and October 2021, we compile herein, the recent Tech Deals that have been completed in the period of October - December 2021. The information that we provide in this article is compiled based on the deals that have been announced and publicly known and our brief analysis on the Tech Investment outlook in 2022.

I. Start Up & Tech Investment Deals between 1st October – 31st December 2021 Period

Please refer to the table below on the list of Tech Deals that have been completed during the period from 1 October to 31 December 2021:

II. NLP Commentary to Recent Tech Deals

In mid-July 2021, Indonesia, again, experienced the Covid-19 outbreak due to the spread of the Delta Variant. This was indeed surprising and considered as a setback for many businesses that have just gradually returned to normal in the previous two months (May and June). The high surge of Covid-19 cases forced the Indonesian government to implement a strict social restriction measure requiring most Indonesian companies to re-implement a mandatory work-from-home arrangement and temporarily close down public spaces, that allow social gatherings.

Despite such setback, it appears that September 2021 was the month with the highest frequency of startup funding in the last three years. At least 28 startups announced that they have received funding, with the total investment of, at least, USD 359 million (IDR 5.1 trillion). Startups in the fintech sector still dominated the business funding during the 4th quarter of 2021, with major fintech players successfully managed to secure fundings (please refer to Section I of this article for the list of completed deals).

III. 2022 Tech Investment Market Outlook

Today, despite of the new Covid-19 Omicron variant that has hit Indonesia and the expected re-enactment of strict social restrictions, the forecast shows that the tech investment trend would remain active in 2022. Indonesia, being the home of major tech unicorns and decacorns in Asia, seems to maintain its position as the start-up hotspot, at least, for the next few years. In addition to being the recipients, we note that several local investors have setup their own funds-and-venture capital firms. In the upcoming years, we will likely see more Indonesian-based investors more actively participate in tech deals across the region and beyond.

In addition to the funding rounds and major tech related transactions, local unicorns and decacorns, such as GoTo, OVO, and Traveloka, are expected to enter IPO in 2022. The Indonesia Stock Exchange, together with the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan) have encouraged these local tech companies to consider listing in Indonesia through the issuance of a new regulation that allows a listing of multiple classes of shares. Interest of the general public on tech investments is also increasing, making Indonesia more attractive and, consequently, lucrative to technology-based companies.

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