Monthly Archives: September 2020

Observing Gopay’s Current Progressive Steps

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Gopay’s domination in Indonesia is nothing. Quoting from various surveys, one of which is from the latest iPrice report, in the second quarter of 2020, Gopay has the highest number of monthly active users and total downloads from its closest competitors, Ovo, Dana, and LinkAja.

It was also stated that Gopay was named the first e-wallet that new users (60%) would choose when making transactions for the first time. In addition, they have the highest number of organic users (54%), even though there are no promos or cashbacks offered, users will still use Gopay as their transaction tool.

The secret of the kitchen that causes this condition is the various partners that provide payment channels, both online and offline, which Gojek formed as the parent of Gopay. This ecosystem forms a new habit for consumers to use Gopay as a daily payment method from the first time they wake up, until they go to sleep again.

When that happens, loyalty is formed. Even if Gopay does not provide discounts, it will not affect user loyalty.

Head of Corporate Communications GoPay Winny Triswandhani explained that the total number of Gopay merchants currently has reached more than 500 thousand merchants, around 95% of which are micro and small merchants. This figure is not only merchants acquired directly by Gopay, including merchants who accept Gopay as a payment tool from GoFood and Midtrans.

“Once Gopay can be accepted outside the ecosystem, we invest a lot of resources, including field labor for the acquisition of small traders. From the start it wasn’t easy, from two years ago the struggle for their education was more difficult than the tech savvy merchants, “he explained to DailySocial.

He continued, “But we know they are the ones who need cashless payments the most because from there they can build credit history, clean books, and these transactions can lead them to grow, for example when applying for KUR.”

Even during this pandemic, since March until now there has been a rapid increase in offline merchants joining, reaching more than 120 thousand new merchants. The triggering factor was a shift in consumer shopping from offline to online, which eventually led merchants to follow this trend.

In accommodating the booming needs of these offline merchants, Gojek created a Gojek with Gojek landing page. There the company combines a variety of business start-up solutions that enter its ecosystem for merchants, from starting up to being established.

Gojek prepares GoFood and GoBiz partner registration solutions, digital payment arrangements for outlets, sites / applications, social commerce, and loan capital. All these solutions certainly involve Gopay as the main umbrella.

Merchants only need to answer short questions asked about the type of business and their monthly sales turnover. Later the survey will direct the right payment solution according to the business conditions.

“For example, for merchants selling on social commerce, you can use Selly. It is a keyboard application that can accommodate answer templates, can create invoices, and has been facilitated with digital payment methods and QRIS. Now people are aware that online stalls are now mandatory and are no longer nice to have. ”

Payment through digital app

One thing that makes Gopay something of a breakthrough is its presence on Google Play as a payment option for buying apps, games, and making in-app purchases since last year. Previously, payments on Google Play could only be made by credit or debit card, Google Play Credit, and through credit deduction.

“Basically, all applications on Google Play can use Gopay for payments. We know the credit card penetration here is very low. We always see consumer behavior when transacting online [in developing innovations]. Digital payments through applications are now much the same as gaming, “said Winny.

Winny did not specify how the current transaction contribution compared to transactions at merchants. However, looking at other sources, in March, GoPay Senior Vice President Product Marketing Timothius Martin said that Gopay’s transactions on Google Play have tripled since six months. Contribution is equal from game and non-game applications.

“This year, even though it has increased threefold, it has been balanced. The contribution is 50% in games, 50% in non-games. In non-games, Gopay has lifestyle and entertainment for streaming, ”said Timo.

From Gojek’s internal data throughout March-May 2020, it shows that Gopay is widely used to purchase game coupons with a 3x increase. The Free Fire, Mobile Legends, and PUBG Mobile applications are favorite games based on the number of top-up game payments with Gopay.

The latest development that the company has made is integrated payment for subscription packages on Spotify and YouTube (Premium and Music). A number of other well-known non-game applications that are now connected to Gopay are HBO Go, WeTV, Iqiyi, Viu, Imo, Inshot, Google Drive, VSCO, LINE, Kakaopage, VivaVideo, Joox, Tinder, Catchplay, Vidio, and many more.

Not only on Google Play, Gopay is also available as a payment method for digital products on the Galaxy Store, a digital app store for Samsung devices. Regarding the plan whether it will be coming to the App Store soon, Winny only said that the company always strives to meet every user’s need, whatever the form.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

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Analysing the B2B Commerce Concept, Telkom’s New Strategy After Blanja’s Shutdown

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Blanja informed its users on its platform that starting September 1, 2020, all purchasing activities will be stopped. In its official statement, Telkom said that this is part of the e-commerce business transformation in the company, in an effort to strengthen the company’s profitability. As of October 1, 2020, Telkom will only focus on e-commerce in the business segment, targeting both corporates and SMEs.

Regarding the next moves, Telkom told DailySocial, “In accordance with Telkom’s strategic plan, which leads to B2B Commerce, it can develop from its own resources (build), partner with other parties (borrow), or develop external competencies (buy) including startups. . ”

Blanja is part of Telkom’s digital business, under the leadership of Fajrin Rasyid. The appointment of Bukalapak’s co-founder is to support the agenda of increasing business opportunities and the company’s potential profits from digital business.

Blanja was not alone, Telkom took eBay as a strategic partner. For the continuation of their cooperation, Telkom is still unable to comment, “The continuation will be announced later”. While we have also tried to request an official statement from eBay Indonesia, as of this writing no comments have yet been made.

Towards the end of 2019, we had an interview with Blanja’s CEO, Jemy Confido. He claimed, the amount of revenue obtained has increased by 84% compared to 2018. There was an 11% increase in EBITDA and about 4% of Net Income. He also emphasized that the company’s main metric is no longer GMV, but revenue.

Hard to catch up

As an e-commerce platform that focuses on B2C / C2C, Blanja’s position has been less attractive lately. One of them is proven by the results of research conducted by iPrice, as of the second quarter of 2020, Blanja’s position is in the 16th rank – one rank just below Elevenia (PT XL Planet), which was previously also managed by the telco company XL Axiata but has been fully released to the Salim Group. .

In its research, iPrice uses several variables, two of which are site visit statistics and app ranking.

Riset iPrice tentang perkembangan e-commerce di Indonesia per Q2 2020

With experience in establishing and raising Bukalapak, Fajrin’s business intuition has clearly been honed. Although the details are not given, there is certainly a strong argument that underlies Blanja’s chances of leading the local e-commerce market are very small, not proportional to the efforts put in.

The market leader is filled with unicorns who continue to compete and innovate to be at the forefront. The scope of its business is also very broad, not only as a place for online buying and selling, but includes aspects of fintech (payments and loans), logistics, online-to-offline (partnerships with shops), and others.

Even though Blanja in 2020 has a target to sharpen its digital products, including payment of various bills, insurance, investment, even digital products for education. The strategy is by cooperating with other players, for insurance they choose Invisee as a partner; for payments and paylater there is LinkAja and Finpay.

But the plan is just the plan, now all focus will be shifted to B2B Commerce. Then what about the market share and business opportunities that Telkom will explore?

Potential B2B commerce

B2B Commerce refers to the exchange of goods and services between companies through digital medium. Most of the business models adopted are marketplace or direct-to-consumer. According to a report released by ecommerceDB.com entitled “In-depth: B2B e-Commerce 2019”, the market value of B2B Commerce in 2019 was $ 12.2 trillion, 6x larger than the B2C market.

Interestingly, Asia Pacific leads the market with a contribution of nearly 80%, making global players step on the gas to work on their B2B units here. So far there are two players that stand out the most, namely Alibaba and Amazon Business. There is a possibility that it will be even more hectic, because the competition landscape has begun to be enlivened by Rakuten, Mercateo, Global Sources, IndiaMART, to Walmart.

In Indonesia, so far there are Bhinneka, Mbiz, Bizzy, AXIQoe, Monotaro, and Ralali. There aren’t many B2C players who have played there either – one that has jumped in is Bukalapak through the BukaPengadaan service. While Bizzy is also a pivot, instead of providing e-commerce for businesses, they are now prioritizing logistics and distribution services.

Chief of Commercial & Omni Channel Bhinneka Vensia Tjhin, through his latest interview with DailySocial, explained that the business contribution from B2B Commerce has reached 90%, compared to B2C last year. Apart from B2B.id, several other supporting features have been rolled out, including Bhinneka Smart Procurement, developing O2O omnichannel, and having selected merchants.

Frost & Sullivan projects a CAGR of 59% in 2017-2022 for B2B Commerce growth in Indonesia, about double the growth rate of B2C Commerce during the same period. MSMEs have the potential to be the main driver in this landscape – according to BPS, MSMEs contribute to 60.3% of national GDP.

DSResearch once released a report “Indonesia B2B Commerce 2018”, in which it discusses developments in terms of platforms and public perceptions. As is known, one of the uniqueness of B2B Commerce is that it allows businesses to get an e-procurement system, integration with ERP, e-invoicing, taxation, and others – adapting to the procurement system in offices. On average, B2B platforms also target government institutions, so players often define their business as B2B2G.

The B2B market for e-commerce may be in its infancy, trying to democratize the existing procurement system. The potential is clear, as people become more familiar with e-commerce. In addition, there are many benefits that can be obtained by businesses, including convenience, transparency, and flexibility.

Telkom in B2B Commerce

Delivered by Telkom, efforts to build B2B Commerce have actually started before. One of them is through the UMKM Digital Market (PaDi), in collaboration with 8 other BUMNs. It consists of a data center for UMKM and BUMN shopping (Control Tower Dashboard), a digital UMKM market for BUMN (PaDi UMKM B2B), and a marketplace feature with centralized access for MSMEs (PaDi UMKM B2C).

Telkom also supports Kemendibud in the online procurement of school goods and services through the School Procurement Information System (SIPLah). SIPLah is designed to take advantage of a marketplace that has certain features to realize school budget work plans and meet the needs of the Ministry of Education and Culture in supervising the use of BOS (School Operational Assistance) funds in accordance with applicable regulations.

It is likely that more products will be initiated. With its infrastructure and business position, Telkom has the potential to maximize its potential to help business consumers. Especially through its many units, the company continues to intensify digital transformation, including through MDI Ventures by investing in digital startups.

There were also rumors about Telkom’s acquisition of the Bhinneka platform to strengthen the B2B Commerce business, but when asked again Telkom was reluctant to comment.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Edtech Startup AyoBlajar is Officially Launched, Offering Online Classes and LMS

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Pandemic has created opportunities among the many difficulties. Edtech is one of those opportunities. Ruangguru and Zenius were two that stood out during the Covid-19 hitting Indonesia.

Between the hegemony of the two edtechs, another new player appeared. This startup is called AyoBlajar. Operating since 2018, AyoBlajar was only registered as a company in July 2019. In fact, their application was only officially published on Friday, September 4, 2020.

In the launch event, AyoBlajar Fariz Isnaini Co-Founder & CEO said, AyoBlajar is an edtech platform that focuses on junior high and high school education levels. He reasoned that the two of them were chosen because at that level student interest began to appear.

AyoBlajar platform can be accessed on Android devices and websites. Like other edtech platforms, it relies on videos as a learning resource, test material and quizzes to hone student understanding. But beyond that, there are several things that differentiate AyoBlajar from other edtechs.

First is the Live Classes feature. This feature allows user students to attend certain classes in real time. There is also one-on-one mentoring that makes it easier for students to have further discussions about the subject matter. The AyoBlajar platform also provides a progress chart feature that allows parents to map students’ learning abilities.

However, what distinguishes AyoBlajar from other platforms is their feature called the Learning Management System (LMS). This feature is made to make it easier for schools to design teaching and learning activities online. COO & Co-Founder Audy Laksmana said, with this feature the school would not find it difficult to prepare materials or exams for their students.

“That’s why we created this Learning Management System so that schools can move the teaching and learning process from offline to online,” added Audy.

Between B2B and B2C

In terms of business model, AyoBlajar adopts two types, namely B2C and B2B. LMS aimed at schools is their B2B product. AyoBlajar set various prices for these products. According to Fariz, this was done due to the different abilities of schools. “But now we don’t charge fees to most [schools],” explained Fariz.

In fact, AyoBlajar is not the only one that has LMS products in Indonesia. Gredu, for example, has introduced itself as a platform that facilitates school teaching and learning activities online since January 2020. However, Fariz claims that the LMS in AyoBlajar offers flexibility that is not found in other platforms.

“What distinguishes our LMS from others is, our LMS has been integrated with online classes so that teachers can create and manage their own classes.”

While their B2C products are all aimed at students. The model they chose was a subscription fee. The cost is also broken down into more various depending on the features required by the user.

The path taken by AyoBlajar is somewhat different from most edtech in the country. Generally, edtech that has operated previously takes a focus between B2B and B2C. Working closely with all stakeholders in the country’s education ecosystem is the key to AyoBlajar in carrying out the two business models.

“AyoBlajar strengthens collaboration with various stakeholders who have the same vision, namely to improve education in Indonesia, with these collaborations AyoBlajar can compete in both B2B and B2C sides,” explained Fariz.

Target

AyoBlajar currently claims to have 13 thousand students and 23 schools registered on their platform. A pandemic situation that requires teaching and learning activities to be carried out online has created its own opportunities for AyoBlajar.

From a funding aspect, AyoBlajar has pocketed initial funding. However, they were reluctant to mention the nominal investment and investors who participated in the funding round.

Fariz targets their users to reach 100 thousand by the end of the year. In order to pursue this big target, AyoBlajar also offers access to subscribe to their content for free for the next month.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Pluang Releases Futures Investment Products, to Open Investment Access to US-Based Enterprise

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Digital investment startup Pluang launched the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Index Futures investment product to expand millennial access to affordable, practical, and safe investment products on the stock index of publicly-traded companies in the United States. This product can already be purchased through the Pluang application, for the time being, it is only available on the Android version.

Pluang’s breakthrough is bold and can be said to be the only fintech startup that offers investment alternatives in this sector. Most players in Indonesia are still working to popularize the habit of investing in gold or mutual funds.

Pluang’s Co-Founder Claudia Kolonas explained that the company is aiming this investment instrument to provide an opportunity for Indonesian investors to diversify their investment portfolios, considering that this alternative is still common to most Indonesians.

In fact, he admitted that the company did not yet have an industrial picture of how many investors were interested in investing offshore (abroad).

“We hope this will be a unique opportunity to introduce new investment products. We are not the first [to provide this product] there are two or three brokers who provide the S&P 500, but we are the first fintech company. With easier application access, it will be much more interesting, ”explained Claudia during a virtual press conference, Tuesday (29/9).

The index futures product offered by Pluang is transacted on the world’s largest derivatives exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Companies are interested in choosing the S&P 500 Index because this index has a superior performance with a growth of 325.54% in the last 10 years as of December 31, 2019.

Meanwhile, in the last five years this index has provided a yield growth of 75.89%. Meanwhile, in the last three years the growth was 48.7%. Thus, this index shows a positive trend movement in the long term.

This performance is supported by superior issuers’ constituents. Only issuers that have been able to report positive profits over the past four quarters and have a market capitalization of more than $ 3.7 billion can enter the index.

Meanwhile, the 10 largest constituents in the index as of August 31, 2020, consisted of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Johnson & Johnson, Visa, and Procter & Gamble.

Risk and legality

Claudia explained that the Pluang S&P 500 investment is classified as a passive investment because investors usually use a long-term buy and hold strategy. Therefore, passive investing reduces the uncertainty arising from the strategy of selecting individual stocks and the market timing strategy that experienced investors typically use.

“We want to attract millennials not only to invest in gold but also to start entering and studying investing in the S&P 500 index.”

However, he continued, this investment has a moderate to high risk because it is triggered by various factors, such as market volatility that may occur ahead of the US election in November 2020. Plus, the movements of the S&P 500 index are often against gold, so diversification between the two asset classes can be considered.

“Therefore, apart from having a medium-high risk profile, this product is also recommended for investors who already have investment experience.”

In this regard, investors who are suitable for plunging into this instrument are those who want to be involved in the international economy, do not have the time to always monitor individual stocks, do not have medium to long term plans, and are challenged to face moderate-high risks because they follow the risks of the US equity market. .

Regarding regulations, Claudia stated that Pluang by PG Berjangka has obtained a permit for Distribution of Customer Mandates to Overseas Exchanges (PALN) by BAPPEBTI. PALN is a contract offering activity and channeling customer orders for the contract using a system provided by the exchange.

The regulation was made to grow the multilateral industry in the world of futures companies in Indonesia.

Explained further, the nominal investment fund here starts from $ 35 depending on the market at that time. In the process of channeling from customer funds to the index exchange, after the customer top up the balance to the Pluang application, the funds will be immediately forwarded to the PG Berjangka segregate account and forwarded to the Indonesian Derivatives Clearing House (KBI).

The next process is that the transaction is listed on the Jakarta Futures Exchange. Then, the funds were forwarded by KBI to a separate Prime Broker account used by Pluang in the US, namely Straits Financial, which is a brokerage member on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). At the last stage, this broker will buy the contract on the CME exchange.

It is certain that sales and withdrawals of funds can be done in real time, aka there are no delays in disbursement. This advantage is superior to futures products compared to index mutual funds ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) whose disbursement or purchase schedules must follow stock exchange operating hours and add administrative costs.

“The S&P 500 index has much greater liquidity than ETF mutual funds and there are no administrative fees here, so it is more effective for investors to take profits.”

Since this instrument is still new to Indonesians, of course there are educational challenges that Pluang must often socialize. Claudia said that her company received many questions from customers because they were not familiar with the concept of futures products.

It doesn’t stop at futures products, Pluang is currently waiting for permission from the OJK and BAPPEBTI to market mutual fund investment products and cryptocurrencies.

“To date, we have offered gold investment because we want to offer investment products that are easy to understand. But in the future, we want to add other products, such as mutual funds and crypto but are still waiting for permission from the relevant regulators,” Claudia said.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

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Lessons Learned from Daniel Tumiwa’s Tech Journey

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Daniel Tumiwa has a series of stories about his career in the tech industry. The thing that caught the most attention was when he led OLX Indonesia (OLX). In a time when the digital business was growing rapidly, OLX with the concept of classified ads was widely recognized by the public. Two years later, precisely in mid-2017, Daniel decided to step down from his position as CEO and then founded the adtech startup Adsvokat.

Daniel admitted to DailySocial that the decision to establish Adsvokat was not the main reason he left OLX. After resigning as the CEO from the classified ad company, Daniel did several innovations, including operating a coaching business, getting into politics, while simultaneously building Adsvokat.

“I saw the idea of Adsvokat was closer and more relevant at that time because I had previously run several startups and they were too advanced from their era and Adsvokat was more real,” Daniel explained.

Behind the fall of Adsvokat

Adsvokat was founded in 2018. It used to offer quite a unique concept. Utilizing traditional media such as car stickers, helmets, t-shirts, luggage tags, behind laptops, even on the back of smartphones as advertising media. They try to encourage young people to promote brands they like in exchange for additional income.

“The biggest failure of Adsvokat is timing. Too fast. The second is to miscalculate the cash flow game.”

He claims that the user registration process is not a problem, also the experience, there are no obstacles in tracking and measuring. This solution has already been accepted and utilized by several early clients. The problems arise due to inappropriate financial cycles. Users or agents need regular fees at the end of the month, while agencies experience a big gap in income. This unclear cycle is what ultimately forced Adsvokat to go out of business.

“The capital must be large to [be able] spin the money and keep the cycle coming in,” Daniel said.

However, Daniel does not regret anything about Adsvokat. He admitted that this startup was designed quite well with transparency since the beginning. In fact, he claims to always disclose the company’s balance, therefore, everyone knows the company’s financial condition. In times of crisis, he will say, “Guys, time to find work!”.

Adsvokat now becomes a history. For Daniel, there are always plans to revive Adsvokat. The business model he developed that time is still being considered with some players. This business model is claimed to be able to plug and play in several companies to explore new marketing strategies, although there has been no realization until now.

From professional CEO to a startup founder

Daniel’s experience is quite varied. In the last 5 years, he had been positioned at two different positions with different challenges, as CEO of a tech company and a startup founder.

In terms of responsibilities or workloads, a professional CEO must obey and comply with KPIs or goals set by the company or group, for example pursuing growth, revenue, user acquisition, and others. Meanwhile, the founder must take full responsibility for any aspects related to the smooth operation of the company.

“The pressure at OLX is different. The reporting line is different and I feel that the excitement is different. It’s a job as CEO at OLX. Adsvokat is mine and I choose to develop it,” Daniel said.

For Daniel, a professional CEO has an already running system and a fully organized dashboard. Usually, the focus is on the achievement of KPIs. Meanwhile, founders must think about more basic things, such as maintaining the sustainability of the company.

“As a founder, the lesson lies in cash flow [company finances]. [In addition] You have to be the magnet [to attract talented talents]. Having no value or expertise to be a magnet will be tough,” he said.

Daniel closed the interview with a suggestion for anyone aspiring to start a startup.

If you really want and intend of becoming a founder, I think you better stop, because your objective in making a startup is wrong. [Should be] you look a little deeper and start seeing things that could have been more efficient and eventually helped a lot.

In the beginning, it will take some process, because the journey as a founder is tough. If you really hope this startup will become a job and earn money, just stop once again. Because unfortunately at the beginning we have to spend a lot of money and spend money unless we have good backups.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Shipper Acquires Porter and Pakde

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Shipper, a logistics aggregator platform developer startup, announced to complete its acquisition of Porter and Pakde. Details of the agreement value is undisclosed. Porter is a startup with short-distance delivery solutions, similar to services offered by GoSend or GrabExpress. While Pakde is known as a fulfillment service provider, they operate warehouses to provide logistics solutions for businesses.

Yesterday (29/9) we just spoke with Shipper’s Co-Founder & COO, Budi Handoko regarding his company’s initiative to enter the warehousing business. He said Shipper has the ambition to be a provider of logistics technology from upstream to downstream. To date, his team still finds challenges in the warehousing system and its role in supporting the growth of the e-commerce industry. These challenges are structural in nature, some are behavioral, and some are caused by technology.

The acquisition of Porter and Pakde is clearly in line with that vision. Moreover, the three companies, including Shipper, have the same customer segmentation. Budi said, “Porter’s joining Shipper will strengthen the Shipper network, therefore, we can get closer to consumers. On the other hand, Pakde’s presence allows us to serve all the needs of consumers in Indonesia, not only in terms of shipping but also in warehousing services.”

Business growth

The pandemic serves its own blessings for logistics startups in Indonesia. Consumers who increasingly rely on online buying/selling and ordering are directly contributing to increasing traction in the logistics business. With this foundation, several startups in related fields received funding this year, including Shipper.

June 2020, Shipper announced a series A funding led by Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures) with the participation of Lightspeed, Floodgate, Y Combinator, Insignia Ventures, and AC Ventures. The value raised is estimated to be around $20 million or around 283 billion Rupiah. The company closed its seed round in September 2019, securing $5 million in funding.

Pakde (Paket Delivery) debuted in 2016, just received seed funding in October 2018 worth of around 6 billion Rupiah. Since its inception, it has provided operational services for online merchants, including inbound services such as stock reports and stock management. Pakde also provides warehousing services at its own warehouse and outbound services in the form of packaging and delivery of goods to partners from clients.

Meanwhile, Porter has been operating since 2015. They had a pivot a year later, focusing their target market on small business owners or merchants. The business then developed, not only serving food orders from restaurants but also facilitating the delivery of groceries from retailers and e-commerce.

Logistics potential

In terms of geography, the Indonesian market requires a unique approach. Online consumers always demand to get fast logistics services that yet affordable.

The transformation also occurred in the logistics sector, service providers do not only provide conventional delivery models – sellers deliver goods to logistics kiosks, then deliver them – now the fulfillment concept is starting to be more popular.

Fortunately, in today’s digital era, every business can use data to see trends in user consumption patterns. As an example of its use, this data can be a valuable insight for merchants or brands selling their products in e-commerce, so that they can find out which specific items are in-demand by users in which areas.

Based on this data, merchants or brands can take advantage of warehousing services provided by startups such as Shipper to accommodate fulfillment in cities that are far from their business area. Therefore, when consumers order, the delivery of goods is closer and costs tend to be cheaper.

Such solutions have also been developed by other companies; some came from logistical players, e-commerce, and e-commerce enablers. For enabler players who have expanded their services to fulfillment systems, there are TokoTalk, Sirclo, GudangAda, and Jet Commerce. Of the e-commerce players, such as TokoCabang from Tokopedia, Dikelola Shopee, following the footsteps of JD.id, and Lazada which have first developed a similar solution.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

How These Early-Stage Startups Can Survive Despite Pandemic

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There are many reasons why startups in the early stages have so many difficulties. Obstacles in finding the right talent, building solid team communication, product exploration, also penetration on the target market.

During this pandemic, these obstacles converge to several more fundamentals. Maintaining cash flow and seeking new funding to secure business continuity are two of them.

We spoke with three startups in the early phase (seed) to find out tips and strategies for dealing with this pandemic. They generally don’t have the flexibility of a more mature startup. However, it is not impossible. They have taken various initiatives to survive this abnormal situation.

Focus not only to a single market

It still remains the memory of the early months when the pandemic hit so many businesses until some are collapsed. The sectors most affected, such as hospitality, restaurants, import-export logistics, transportation, experienced the hardest hit. Large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) to reduce the level of transmission of the outbreak forced the sector to hold back for a while.

Stoqo is one of the victims. The discontinuity of thousands of restaurants and shopping centers caused their income to drop significantly. Stoqo announced shutdown in April.

Startup Izy.ai, which business is closely related to hospitality, learned from this situation. The CEO, Gerry Mangentang does not want the startup he founded to have the same fate.

Izy started its operation in 2018, relies on the sustainability of hotels and accommodations. Its platform helps hotels and accommodations digitize services and increase guests. Gerry realized that his party could not continue to rely solely on the hospitality business. Moreover, the local situation indicates that the pandemic will last longer.

“We have to pivot into another direction and must not depend only on accommodations. We have plans to enter the residential and retail [markets],” Gerry said.

Izy’s core business actually lies in fulfilling the digitization of hotel services through a subscription model. Services such as ordering food in the hotel, room service, laundry, and others. With the same principle, they are trying to open new markets by penetrating modern retail and residential settlements.

“We are an on-demand platform, with this retail we can be considered light e-commerce, but for malls and retail. The focus will be on Jakarta, Bandung, and Bali,” Gerry added.

Efficiency and other initiatives

If Izy decided to pivot in order to survive this crisis, Crowde and Doogether prefer efficiency strategy.

Crowde’s Head of Impact Investment, Afifa Urfani admitted, at the beginning of the pandemic, her team experienced a strong impact in order to survive until public acceptance of its products. Therefore, Afifa thought Crowde is more selective with every step of the way.

“We chose to slow down, to speed up later,” she said.

Crowde carefully calculates the costs in and out of the company, tightens expenses, and changes the company’ss culture to do all its activities digitally. This method is the compensation that Crowde chose, therefore the acquisition and maintenance process of their capital project continues.

Crowde’s core business is actually capital risk control in the agricultural sector. Since the pandemic began, Afifa said the company has made several initiatives to adjust to the situation. One of these initiatives is to link market access with tonnage purchases.

“What is different is that in the past we focused on the hospitality business (hotels, restaurants, cafes/catering), now we are open to multi-layer market potential,” she added.

Doogether has similar strategies. The wellness platform fronted by Fauzan Gani admits Doogether has made many adjustments to expenses.

From an initiative aspect, Doogether focuses on enriching its service features. One of them is by launching a live streaming-based class to be ordered through the application. This strategic step was taken to target people who now exercise more at home.

“In addition, we also add a verification feature for our partners who have opened their facilities and comply with the SOP from the government,” Doogether’s CEO, Fauzan Gani said.

New funding is still an option

Extending the runway is the focus of all startups in these situations. Apart from previous strategies, funding is a clearly available option. However, funding is not an easy choice because it involves many other factors.

Fauzan said that the obstacle to raising a new funding round is the unstable economic situation in Indonesia. He thought, the availability of vaccines is hope for getting out of the pandemic crisis and the adoption of the community for the industry they are in.

Fauzan admitted that his team had no plans to raise new funds. He believes the Doogether runway is still sufficient to survive the pandemic crisis since they have succeeded in getting extension funding from its investors.

“However, as a startup, we must always be ready for a new round of funding,” he said.

Afifah has quite similar answer. Attracting investors for new funding is clearly more challenging. That’s why deploying Series A funding is the second priority. Crowde’s first priority, she mentioned, is to optimize the scheme and business model in order to finance operational expenses, even though the profits they earned were thin.

We strongly believe that the runway is still long enough to survive the company, Crowde is determined to get through this crisis with their own business.

“Certainly our choice is to run a healthy business in order to ensure investment possibilities,” Afifa said.

Meanwhile, Izy is racing against time. The recent seed funding gave them a one-year runway. With hospitality and accommodation conditions still far from normal, their pivot plan will play a big role in the company’s future.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Xiaomi Umumkan Mi TV Master 4K dan Varian Extreme Edition 8K

Gadget, , ,

Xiaomi telah meluncurkan TV premium baru berbasis teknologi mini-LED pertamanya berukuran 82 inci. Produk ini hadir dalam dua versi, pertama Xiaomi Mi TV Master dengan resolusi 4K dan yang kedua Extreme Edition dengan resolusi mencapai 8K.

Sesuai namanya, fokus utama Mi TV Master Extreme Edition adalah mengejar kualitas gambar yang ekstrem. Dalam hal ini Xiaomi menggunakan panel 10-bit dengan dukungan HDR10, refresh rate tinggi 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HLG, dan color space mencapai DCI-P3 98%. Selain itu, panel tersebut memiliki tingkat kecerahan 2.000 nits dan rasio kontras 400.000:1.

Xiaomi Mi TV 2

Kedua smart TV ini menjalankan sistem operasi MIUI dan berteknologi mini-LED yang merupakan solusi peredupan lokal tingkat lanjut dengan 960 zona untuk model Extreme Edition. Di mana setiap zona diterangi oleh 16 LED yang dihubungkan ke pengontrol khusus yang dapat mengatur tingkat kecerahan dalam 4.096 level. Ukuran LED ini kecil, masing-masing hanya berukuran sepersepuluh milimeter.

Mengenai dapur pacunya, model Extreme Edition mengandalkan chipset TV high-end Novatek 72685 yang memiliki dua inti Cortex-A73 dan Cortex-A53, serta GPU Mali-G51 MP4. Smart TV ini juga sudah mendukung jaringan 5G dan memiliki AI engine yang dapat menjalankan 22 algoritma untuk meningkatkan kualitas gambar.

Xiaomi Mi TV 3

Beralih ke Xiaomi Mi TV Master, meski sama-sama mengusung layar 82 inci namun resolusinya di 4K. Xiaomi mengandalkan panel 10-bit dengan cakupan color space 93% DCI-P3, namun tetap memiliki refresh rate tinggi 120Hz.

Selain itu, Mi TV Master memiliki 240 zona peredupan lokal dengan 4.096 tingkat kecerahan dan kecerahan maksimumnya 1.000 nits dengan rasio kontras 140.000:1. Untuk otaknya mengandalkan chipset MediaTek 9650 dengan CPU quad-core Cortex-A73 dan GPU Mali G52 MC1.

Sekarang mari bahas harganya, Xiaomi Mi TV Master 82 inci dengan teknologi mini-LED ini dibanderol dengan harga yang relatif terjangkau yaitu CNY 10.000 atau sekitar Rp21 juta. Sedangkan, untuk model Extreme Edition dibanderol cukup tinggi yaitu CNY 50,000 atau sekitar Rp109 jutaan. Kedua model akan tersedia di pasar China dan mulai dijual pada tanggal 21 Oktober mendatang.

Sumber: GSMArena

Fulfillment Feature Becomes TokoTalk’s Next Innovation

English, , , , , ,

TokoTalk, a startup with an e-commerce website builder service, has officially launched its latest feature, fulfillment. This feature is expected to facilitate users in terms of logistics management. What makes this feature superior is the delivery of goods from multiple locations and pickup service from the seller’s location.

Tokotalk’s Head of Business Development, Kemas Antonius explained, the latest feature will also include the provision of warehouse storage and packaging of goods in collaboration with several partners. There are three old players engaged in fulfillment and warehouse services who will be invited to work together.

“It is expected that business players who use TokoTalk will no longer need to consider logistical operational issues. Starting from the order process, stock management, packaging, to delivery and couriers, especially when facing a massive order. They just sit back and focus on thinking about sales strategies,” Kemas said.

Part of the innovation series

As of August 2020 TokoTalk claims to have succeeded in getting 320 thousand business people who have created online stores through its platform. Growth reaches 30% every month. It is also said that their GMV will reach $10 million or equivalent of 148 billion Rupiah by the end of this year.

“The target is to strengthen our system in order to reach more business players or brands to join TokoTalk. We want to become a sustainable all-in-one solution platform for online business people. We want to create an ecosystem that can synergize with mutual cooperation,” Kemas added.

This fulfillment feature is not the single concern of TokoTalk. Logistics performance has long been in the spotlight of a number of players in the e-commerce industry. Big players such as Tokopedia and Bukalapak both have initiatives to improve the quality of their logistics. After all, as a seller, the 0n-time service is an essential feature.

TokoTalk has been operating since 2018. In April 2019 they have secured funding of IDR 45 billion. At that time, their focus was on service improvement and business growth.

Now, 2020 has started to enter the fourth quarter. They began to present a series of innovations as a form of commitment to improving the service quality. This fulfillment service doesn’t seem to be the last. Kemas said that they are currently developing another system and are ready to collaborate with various parties. Some are already on their timeline, such as to develop an omnichannel feature, POS, and advanced digital marketing solutions.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

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resurgence kerja sama vividthree

Resurgence dan Vividthree Mau Kerja Sama untuk Bawa Teknologi AR ke Esports

Esports Ecosystem, Hybrid, , ,

Organisasi esports asal Singapura, Resurgence kini tengah berdiskusi dengan perusahaan hiburan Vividthree Holdings Ltd untuk menjalin kerja sama dalam mengadakan acara esports yang lebih imersif di Asia tengggara.

Memang, Vividthree memiliki keahlian dalam teknologi Augmented Reality dan Virtual Reality. Jadi, jika mereka bekerja sama dengan Resurgence, mereka akan dapat memanfaatkan keahlian tersebut untuk membuat konten berkualitas untuk para audiens esports. Misalnya, Vividthree dapat membuat konten naratif berbasis data, serta visualisasi dan statistik dengan high fidelity audio. Dengan begitu, para penonton akan bisa mendapatkan insight yang lebih baik tentang pertandingan esports yang tengah berlangsung.

resurgence kerja sama vividthree
Vividthree dikenal dengan keahliannya dalam teknologi AR dan VR. | Sumber: Facebook

“Sebagai bagian dari strategi ekspansi kami, kami akan menargetkan 150 juta gamer yang ada di Asia Tenggara pada 2021,” kata Jayf Soh, Pendiri dan CEO Resurgence, dikutip dari Asia One. “Kerja sama kami dengan Vividthree akan memungkinkan kami untuk menggunakan teknologi inovatif dalam proses produksi konten esports sehingga kami bisa memberikan konten yang lebih baik dan meningkatkan interaksi dengan para penonton. Memang, salah satu tujuan kami adalah menciptakan narasi yang menarik dan membuat jalur karir yang stabil bagi para pemain esports profesional dan kreator konten.”

Sementara itu, Charles Yeo, Managing Director, Vividthree berkata, “Kami bangga karena kami akan dapat bekerja sama dengan Resurgence sehingga kami akan dapat menggunakan teknologi kami ke industri esports. Kami tidak sabar untuk melihat bagaimana penggunaan teknologi AR dan VR akan mengubah pengalaman para fans dan pemain esports.”

Industri esports kini memang tengah menjadi primadona. Di Asia Tenggara, industri gaming dan esports juga masih mengalami pertumbuhan walau di tengah pandemi COVID-19 sekalipun. Pasalnya, turnamen esports masih bisa diselenggarakan bahkan di tengah karantina atau pembatasan sosial. Tak hanya itu, selama pandemi, konten game dan esports juga justru menjadi semakin populer. Buktinya, masyarakat menghabiskan semakin banyak waktunya untuk menonton konten esports di platform streaming game seperti Twitch dan Facebook Gaming.

Sumber header: IGN