Go-jek

A Go-Jek passenger wears a helmet with the startup’s logo as he rides pillion. Source: Shutterstock/findracadabra

Indonesia: Go-Jek revs up investors to raise $1b in funding

By | 19 April, 2017

INDONESIAN motorcycle-hailing startup Go-Jek is in talks with investors to raise US$1 billion, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal.

The rival to Uber and Singapore’s Grab is said to be backed by KKR & Co, an American multinational private equity firm, and Warburg Pincus LLC, a London equity investor, in its bid to lead the market in Indonesia.

The company will use the money to expand, with the first round of bids due by the end of this month, according to the Journal’s sources.

The investment would give Jakarta-based Go-Jek a pre-money valuation – value of a startup before fresh funds are included – of around US$2 billion.

SEE ALSO: Indonesia: Go-Jek adds five new services to its already-impressive portfolio

The company raised around US$550 million in August at an undisclosed valuation. For its latest investment bid, Go-Jek is said to be assisted by Beijing’s China International Capital Corp. and Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group AG.

Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing market is taking off and could grow 18 percent a year to US$13.1 billion by 2025, according to estimates by Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pvt. Ltd. Meanwhile, growth in the United States is slowing, with the number of people using ride-hailing services increasing by only seven percent in 2018, compared to estimates of 13 percent growth this year, according to research firm eMarketer.

Some 250 million people live in Indonesia, with about 30 million in buzzing Jakarta. As such, ride-hailing companies are scrambling to lead the Indonesian market.

Go-Jek’s current investors include DST Global, run by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, prominent US venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital and NSI Ventures, a unit of Northstar Group, a Southeast Asian private-equity firm.



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@Heidivel

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Heidi Vella is a freelance energy and technology journalist based in London. Her interests include smart cities, clean energy, emerging markets and technology innovation. Prior to working freelance, Heidi spent four years’ covering all things technology and energy-related for London-based Progressive Digital Media.

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