Evermos social commerce platform for halal products is to complete its series B fundraising. Some investors, including the UOB venture unit, Jungle Ventures, and several others will be participated in this round. This news was confirmed by one of the company’s founders. This round is said to close in 1 or 2 weeks and to be officially announced.
Based on data, this round has generated $19.5 million or around 281 billion Rupiah. With its current status [open], the lists of investors and its valuation might still be changed.
Previously, Evermos received series A funding in late 2019. The fund worth of $8.25 million were successfully secured from Jungle Ventures, Shunwei Capital, and Alpha JWC Ventures.
Regarding business, Evermos Co-Founder Ghufron Mustaqim said in a previous interview, the business recorded a month-on-month growth of around 20% in 2020. Currently, Evermos has collaborated with around 500 brand owners (more than 90% are SMEs), gathering 50-75 thousand active resellers that reach 504 cities/regencies in Indonesia, and serve around 200-400 thousand consumers.
Efficient business model
The social commerce approach allows Evermos app to connect product owners and resellers. Each reseller partner also has the opportunity to receive training, including its relation to fiqh in business transactions. The Evermos warehouse has also been established as a fulfillment center, enabling partners to get more efficient COD and delivery features for their customers.
“Evermos is naturally more efficient with our business model. We do not have inventory and also do not burn much money for marketing as we are assisted by a team of resellers to market products to their neighbors, friends and family. Even from the start, Evermos’ contribution margin has been positive, also through 2020 when the pandemic occurred and we accelerated growth,” Ghufron said.
In Indonesia, there are already several players for social commerce services, such as Dagangan, Super, KitaBeli, RateS, etc. However, there is no specific player fully focused on halal products and sharia concepts. Also with e-commerce services or online marketplaces, halal products are also provided mingling with other brand variants, therefore, it is more fragmented.
Sharia economy opportunity
According to the “2020 Islamic Economic & Financial Report” published by Bank Indonesia, the market share of the halal industry in Indonesia has consistently increased. The most significant commodities are halal food and fashion.
In terms of logistics movements, the volume of halal product transactions in May to December 2020 quantitatively grew 81.5% compared to the previous year period. Online shopping activity alone has experienced a 29.96% increase in e-commerce platforms and marketplaces over the past year.
With more than 200 million Muslim population, Indonesia is predicted to have tremendous potential for the halal industry. This makes players like Evermos quite optimistic to meet the market in the future.
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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian