Durians Daily #311: Bukalapak shares soar 25% after IPO, now among Indonesia’s 15 biggest companies; Ee Ling Lim on how the pandemic has accelerated ESG innovation in Southeast Asia; Friz one of 10 selected for Iterative accelerator out of 330+

500 Southeast Asia
500 Southeast Asia
Published in
4 min readAug 9, 2021
Credit: Reuters

A stellar debut

  • 500-backed e-commerce startup Bukalapak’s shares surged 25% on its market debut after raising US$1.5 billion in Indonesia’s biggest IPO (Initial Public Offering). Its shares closed at US$0.0738 after reaching the 25% limit minutes after opening.
  • According to Reuters, Bukalapak’s debut has vaulted its market value to US$7.5 billion, placing it among Indonesia’s 15 biggest companies.
  • In 2020, the startup reported a 26% revenue increase to US$96 million, up 26% on the year. It recorded 105 million registered users.
  • President Teddy Oetomo said to Bloomberg, “We are currently tracking well in our path to profitability,” adding that Bukalapak expects to turn profitable within three years.
  • Read the full story on Bloomberg here.
Credit: 500 Startups

Building a better world

  • Ee Ling Lim, Head of APAC Business Development at 500 Startups, shared in an interview how the pandemic has served as a catalyst for companies in the region to accelerate their ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) initiatives.
  • According to Ee Ling, the pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in traditional business models and organizational structures.
  • “Companies with strong ESG practices were shown to have outperformed in the same period,” she said, adding that tech companies in Southeast Asia where women comprised more than a fifth of management generated 10% higher innovation revenues than those without.
  • She revealed that a trend unique to Southeast Asia is that the pandemic has drawn more attention to the ‘E’ (environmental) part of ESG. This has resulted in more innovative solutions led by startups such as the 500-backed super app Grab, which recently announced its transport sustainability goal.
  • Read the full interview on TechNode Global here.
Credit: Tech in Asia

Backing for banking

  • 500-backed fintech startup Friz is one of 10 startups selected for Southeast Asia-focused accelerator Iterative’s third batch of companies for Summer 2021. The 10 companies were selected from over 330 applications.
  • Iterative’s main criterion is leadership by exceptional founders. For this batch, the accelerator is supporting new emerging trends amid the pandemic.
  • According to the accelerator, 88 million freelancers (65% of the total) in Asia are earning incomes above the median. This demographic has been growing 17% annually, yet traditional banks often reject them for loans and credit cards.
  • The startup is led by CEO Nirali Zaveri and CTO Ash Rhazaly, both from fintech backgrounds.
  • Read more on Iterative’s blog here.

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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.

This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively “500 Startups”) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Information about portfolio companies’ markets, competitors, performance, and fundraising has been provided by those companies’ founders and has not been independently verified. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to provide any investment advisory service with regard to securities by 500 Startups. No content or information in this post should be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. One or more 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.

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500 Southeast Asia
500 Southeast Asia

500 Southeast Asia is an early-stage VC firm; The company has backed over 250 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology.