Jakarta-Based BukuWarung Gains Funding from Soma Capital after Graduating from Y Combinator

Micro-businesses refer to businesses, usually owned by individuals, with less than IDR 50 million (USD 3,350) in total assets and a maximum of IDR 300 million (USD 20,100) in revenue.

The investment came after the startup graduated from Y Combinator accelerator class “YC S20”, where it was the only Indonesian startup in the batch.

BukuWarung plans to use this funding to expand its technology team and build a range of monetized financial services such as digital payments, loans, and savings accounts. The firm has recently launched a digital payment feature in partnership with several major Indonesian banks, including state-owned Bank Mandiri and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), and e-wallet platforms such as Ovo and Dana.

“We launched new payment products to provide our users with a more holistic solution for their cash and credit management needs. This is also part of our longer-term monetization strategy which will help us sustain our ability to reach more merchants nationwide,” said Abhinay Peddisetty, co-founder of BukuWarung, adding that the feature has been demanded by its merchants for safe and efficient financial transactions during COVID-19.

Founded by Peddisetty and Chinmay Chauhan in late 2019, BukuWarung offers a mobile app that helps small merchants keep track of all transactions, including credit, expenses, and sales. The company claims that merchants receive 3-times faster repayments and increased cash flow after using the app.

BukuWarung says it serves more than 600,000 merchants across 750 locations in Indonesia on its app. The last funding round dates back to July when it raised an undisclosed amount of pre-Series A funding led by Quona Capital. With its current funding, the company claims to have “successfully raised over 8-figure USD” in capital.