China-based VC firm Gobi Partners and Singapore-headquartered Golden Equator have co-led a $27 million Series B+ funding round in Indonesian fashion e-commerce platform SaleStock. Alpha JWC Ventures, Convergence Ventures, KIP, MNC and SMDV also participated in the round.
The round in SaleStock marks the first investment from Gobi Partners’ $200-million Meranti ASEAN Growth Fund. The early stage venture capital firm on Wednesday announced the first close of the fund at $50 million.
SaleStock co-founder Lingga Madu said the fresh funds will be used to strengthen the e-commerce player’s position as the market leader in Indonesia and become profitable in the near term.
“SaleStock is as much a tech company as we are a fashion company. We invited the best and brightest to join us from companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Palantir, and these individuals are using tech and big data to help our company make better things in life more affordable and accessible to the next billion consumers,” Madu added.
SaleStock had reportedly received initial funding from Ardent Capital, but it never officially announced the round.
Gobi Partners’s Meranti ASEAN Growth Fund will invest in Southeast Asian tech companies at Series B and C stages. It focuses on cloud services, e-commerce, fintech, and what it calls “TaqwaTech”, or high tech companies that serve and empower Muslim communities.
Three regional limited partners have joined the fund, namely Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad (MAVCAP), GS Shop, and Indonesian investment firm CKM.
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