Breakthroughs and progress are being made in the Indonesian market in terms of Venture Capitalists making considerable financial contributions.

The most notable VCs are Sinar Mas and East Ventures which have recently connected with Yahoo Japan to form EV growth, targeting capital funds of $150 million to be invested in growth startups across Indonesia particularly.

EV Growth announced that they received a total of $100 million from three companies and will use this money in the second half of the year.

Founder and Managing Partner of East Ventures, Wilson Cuaca, has stated that they will focus on early-stage startups. The 3 investor groups decided to collaborate after there was a clear gap in the market for investment above seed and Series A. With their financial collaborations they have become a powerhouse VC in Indonesia that can tap into startups looking to surpass their funding and raise it to Series B or higher.

“For ticket size, our target is $5 million to $15 million per startup. We think this is one of the biggest funds in Indonesia for growth stage. Usually, after seed and series A, you would have to look abroad for funding, now we can get funding locally,” Cuaca said

This will really strengthen the ecosystem government showing notable support for startups with programs such as 1000 Startups Movement and the Next Indonesian Unicorn (Nexicorn) initiatives.

Yahoo Japan stepped in recently as a joint venture through its Softbank-backed venture capital arm YJ Capital, which has invested in 80 companies in Asia and the US. Indonesia's ecosystem is really taking off and attracting so much more attention from investors and it appears that this is a long-term project.

“We come not only with funds but also with Yahoo Japan’s long experience in the field of internet, which has confirmed that the joint venture is a 10-year fund and does not target specific verticals to invest in." said Hiro

EV growth has already made a significant investment in multiple startups. The joint venture fund is targeting to invest in 15 to 20 startups in the next few years. 

Several Unicrons have emerged from Indonesia, however, very few startups have surpassed to Series B funding or beyond. EdTech startup, Ruangguru, Digital Media Company IDN Media and healthcare platform Alodokter has successfully reached Series B investment.

Startups that are expecting to raise series B funding this year include P2P firms UangTeman and Investee.

Indonesia really is an interesting and flourishing ecosystem that only stands to grow exponentially in the coming years with Venture Capitalists pouring into the country enabling startups in the tech industries to reach higher potential than what was on offer before.

Techsauce will be taking a closer look at the Indonesian Tech startup scene this year and closely observe the investment deals into the industries driven by tech.