Warung Pintar raises US$27.5mil in Series B funding

• Aiming for more than 5,000 kiosks at the end of 2019
• Seeks to empower digital inclusion, improve economic wellbeing

WARUNG Pintar, a micro retail technology startup in Indonesia announced on Jan 21 that it had secured US$27.5 million (RM113.03 million) in series B funding.

Participating in the oversubscribed round are existing investors including SMDV, Vertex Ventures, Pavilion Capital, Line Ventures, Digital Garage, Agaeti, Triputra, Jerry Ng, and EV Growth, followed by new investor, OVO.

Warung Pintar co-founder and chief executive officer, Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro (pic, right) explained that their journey towards realising the company’s vision to be the gold standard for micro-entrepreneurs in Indonesia doesn’t stop here.

“Warung Pintar has significantly pushed mitra’s (partners) income up by 41%. We will continue to strive in transforming micro-retail so they can have a more competitive advantage in the the retail landscape and build a better economy for themselves.”

Many participating investors expressed their delight in the completion of Warung Pintar’s funding round and with how the startup’s mission aligned with their own for Indonesia.

Managing partner of Vertex Ventures, Chua Kee Lock, explained that Warung Pintar immediately caught their attention when they first heard about it. “I believe Warung Pintar is well positioned to accelerate SME digital adoption in Indonesia. Vertex shares the same vision with the management team in terms of empowering the underserved population and building equal opportunities for everyone. We are proud to be part of this venture.”

As for OVO, CEO Jason Thompson, said that "Warung Pintar's proposition resonates with OVO's focus to empower Indonesian SMEs and enable micro-entrepreneurs as a critical part of financial inclusion. This venture underlines OVO's conviction to be part of Indonesian SME growth in the digital economy era."

Jesslyne Widjaja from SMDV also shares her thoughts on how Warung Pintar’s digital transformation is well aligned with the group’s interest in playing a large role to revolutionise Indonesia’s digital economy.

“Warung Pintar will reach and transform underserved small business owners without technology capabilities. We believe Warung Pintar is the platform that will empower digital inclusion,” she explained.

Managing partner of EV Growth, Shinichiro Hori said, ”We believe that Warung Pintar is very unique in its use of technology to empower millions of micro-entrepreneurs across Indonesia. At EV Growth, we are excited to be part of Warung Pintar and the digital inclusion they are bringing to the underserved population.”

Chairman of Warung Pintar, Willson Cuaca added “We are honored to receive such overwhelming support by ecosystem stakeholders; product principals, the local community, government, investors and warung owners.

“Warung Pintar is one of the fastest-growing startups within East Ventures’ portfolio and the round was closed pretty fast. We hope the new round will fuel growth, adoption and most importantly, make a deep impact on society. “

Striving together for a better Indonesia

Since its inception, Warung Pintar’s kiosks have grown 575 times within 12 months. In addition, Warung Pintar has been shown to have a 110% social return on investment, which means that every investment Warung Pintar gives to each mitra will improve their life quality by 110%.

This is indicated by their capability in providing children’s education, healthcare, their socio economic relationships, the skill of entrepreneurship and other life quality improvement indicators.

“One of the reasons all this growth is possible is because of the hard work from the Warung Pintar team whom we call AnWar (Anak Warung) or people who like hanging out in a Warung.

“Currently, we have more than 200 AnWars with a strong drive and passion in building a better economy for Indonesia. Together with Warung Pintar, they continously leverage on the quality of technologies and services that Warung Pintar can offer,” said Agung.

Starting from two kiosks on January 2018, Warung Pintar has more than 1,150 kiosks to date.

Last December, Warung Pintar officially extended their business opportunity to the people of Banyuwangi regency (East Java Province in Indonesia) and is aiming for more than 5,000 kiosks at the end of 2019.