[Funding alert] Indonesia's BukuWarung raises $60M in Series A round

Indonesian fintech startup BukuWarung on Thursday raised $60 million in Series A funding led by US-based VC firms Valar Ventures and Goodwater Capital.

The startup will use the funds to ramp up its hiring in Bengaluru and other remote locations in India, provide more MSME-focused financial services, including lending, insurance, savings, etc., and strengthen its core accounting, digital payments, and commerce products.

Existing investors such as Quona Capital and angel investors such as ex-GoPay CEO Aldi Haryopratomo, Victor Jacobsson (Founder of Europe-based startup Klarna), and Ravish Naresh (CEO of Khatabook), along with partners from SoftBank and Trihill Capital also participated in the round.

"The digital solutions specific to the needs of small businesses (MSMEs) in the emerging economies of Asia and the world are the need of the hour with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this funding, we aim to leverage the talent base and learnings from the MSME ecosystem across Asia, including India, for the digital empowerment of MSMEs in Indonesia and beyond," said Abhinay Peddisetty, Co-founder and CEO, BukuWarung.

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Founded in 2019 by Chinmay Chauhan and Abhinay Peddisetty, BukuWarung is an Indonesia-based MSME-focussed fintech startup. The startup claims to have grown nearly 5X in team size over the last six months, and it aims to double its headcount to 300 across Singapore, Indonesia, and India, over the next few months.

According to a press statement, the platform has nearly 6.5 million registered merchants on its platform across 750 Indonesian cities, mostly in Tier II and III cities.

So far, BukuWarung has raised nearly $80 million in funding.

"The entire team at BukuWarung are dedicated to helping merchants adapt to an online world of commerce and have established themselves as the clear market leader through relentless execution. They close the digital gap for millions of merchants across Indonesia and lead the charge towards a digital infrastructure, which is more comprehensive and accessible than anything seen in the market. BukuWarung is a compelling opportunity...," said James Fitzgerald, Founding Partner, Valar Ventures.