eFishery Series

Inside eFishery’s fall: DealStreetAsia’s award-winning investigation that shook Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem

We are proud to share that DealStreetAsia’s extensive coverage of Indonesian aquaculture startup eFishery has bagged the WAN-IFRA Asian Digital Media Awards 2025 under the Best Business & Financial News Story category.

Our correspondents in Indonesia, Marsya Nabila and Gita Rossiana, have been leading the coverage of the collapse of one of the country’s unicorns.

It started with a scoop in December 2024 that shook Indonesia’s and Southeast Asia’s startup scene: The board of aquaculture unicorn eFishery had suspended its co-founders, Gibran Huzaifah and Chrisna Aditya, following an investigation into alleged financial irregularities.

That first story set off months of agenda-setting coverage. Our newsroom has since published over a dozen exclusives tracking eFishery’s unraveling.

Here is the complete series chronicling eFishery’s collapse:

  1. Exclusive: eFishery’s board suspends co-founders Gibran Huzaifah, Chrisna Aditya amid probe
  2. eFishery co-founders’ suspension sparks investor anxiety
  3. The unravelling of a unicorn: What went wrong at eFishery
  4. eFishery saga serves as a wake-up call for investors, startups
  5. Interim CEO of eFishery said to have stepped down
  6. eFishery’s newly-formed union demands clarity amid fears of mass layoffs
  7. eFishery may have a long runway, but investors debate whether to save or let go
  8. FTI Consulting takes over as eFishery’s acting management amid alleged fraud probe
  9. Indonesian police receive complaints against eFishery co-founders
  10. eFishery names new CEO; feeder business may stay, other divisions under review
  11. Data Vantage: eFishery secondary transactions, green tech, and other updates
  12. After layoffs and India shutdown, eFishery eyes PE funding
  13. eFishery investors could recover up to 10 cents on the dollar: FTI report
  14. eFishery co-founders could face SG police investigation over alleged $253m losses
  15. Charticle: Draft forensic audit paints grim picture of eFishery
  16. Argor Capital terminates eFishery continuation vehicle
  17. Data Vantage: eFishery founders largely avoided cashing out
  18. Draft audit exposes eFishery’s struggles with Kabayan financing—its biggest cash drain
  19. Exclusive: Dubai royal family-linked Aqua Bridge Holding sole bidder for embattled eFishery
  20. Investigators complete eFishery vendor fraud probe
  21. Temasek disappointed by eFishery’s debacle that spooked SE Asia
  22. eFishery founder, ex-top executives detained by Indonesian police
  23. Northstar provides safeguard to Ares on eFishery exposure
  24. eFishery’s asset sale process in limbo amid scrutiny

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW