Gobi Partners, Golden Equator lead $27m round in Indonesian startup SaleStock

Photo: SaleStock website

By Antonia Timmerman

August 16, 2017

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.

Also Read:

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China: Cheetah Mobile’s video streaming app Live.me Inc raises $60m

China: Gobi leads $7m round in agri drone sharing startup Nongtian Guanjia

Gobi Partners, Mavcap launch $14.5m ASEAN fund for seed-stage investments

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.
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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