Go regional or grow Indonesia: the dilemma for eFishery, Xendit, and Co

Indonesian startups don’t need to go regional to scale, but many are—eFishery, Kopi Kenangan, Social Bella, and Xendit, to name a few. However, they still need to secure their home market, while also localising their strategies overseas

More and more well-funded Indonesian startups want to establish their footprints overseas

It’s a risky move. Even Gojek’s regional expansion didn’t really pan out; it ended up selling its Thailand business

In a way, Indonesian startups don’t have to go overseas—Indonesia is big enough to build a business of scale

But now that the target is set, localising efficiently and finding the right people to execute their big ambitions are major challenges

In January, Indonesian aquaculture tech startup eFishery made headlines by raising a US$90 million Series C round. The company, which provides automatic feeders, software, and financing to fish farmers, said it plans to use the money to expand to 10 of the world’s top aquaculture countries, including India and China.

A month prior, Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan had raised a similar US$96 million Series C, taking its valuation past the US$1 billion mark. It also said it wanted to expand regionally. “We can’t specify which country yet, but it’s going to be in Southeast Asia,” said Ruth Davina, Kopi Kenangan’s communications manager.

AUTHOR

Yunindita Prasidya

Based in Indonesia, Dita is passionate about tracking the country’s growing digital economy. Her coverage is sector-agnostic—she has written about e-commerce, edtech, fintech, venture capital, and publicly-listed companies, as well as stories on careers and workplaces. She was previously a business journalist covering banking and the stock market at The Jakarta Post, Indonesia’s leading English daily.

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