SIRCLO, the Shopify of Indonesia, raises US$36m in Series B round

SIRCLO, an Indonesia startup that allows businesses to build websites easily through their platform, has raised US$36 million in a Series B round led by East Ventures's growth fund and Saratoga.

Indonesia's Traveloka and Sinar Mas Land also participated in the round, among others, the startup said in a statement on Friday. Traveloka put in US$5 million into the round, through a Singapore-based vehicle Godwit Investments, according to data platform VentureCap Insights.

Fresh funds will be used to develop its technology infrastructure and expand the services it offers to business owners, SIRCLO said.

SIRCLO will offer a dashboard that is capable of providing real-time data analytics across multiple channels. It is also developing a financing solution aimed at encouraging micro, small-and-medium enterprises (MSME) players to be more confident in competing with larger-scale retail players, the company said.

During the pandemic, SIRCLO stated it recorded a five-fold increase in transactions, amid shifting consumer behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic. To date, the startup said it has more than 100,000 brands on its platform.

The company added that almost half of Indonesia's population uses digital technology for their daily needs, which "shows great potential for growth". Michael Soeryadjaya, president director of Saratoga, said that this investment can help to "strengthen Indonesia's economic recovery by developing a technological infrastructure that can launch and equip MSMEs businesses in Indonesia to succeed in today's digital era."

Willson Cuaca, co-founder and managing partner of East Ventures, added that the firm initially thought SIRCLO was "ahead of its time". But now, Mr Cuaca said, the Covid-19 crisis has made the company stronger. "(Its) revenue hit record high at hundreds of million dollars and the company is near profitable."