Indonesia Digest: Gojek offers gold investment; Lazada partners Alumak

Employees at online retailer Lazada fill orders at the company's warehouse in Jakarta, Indonesia April 15, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

By Sarah Yuniarni

May 11, 2020

Gojek has introduced an online gold investment feature in collaboration with Pluang while Southeast Asia’s e-commerce firm Lazada has partnered with Indonesia’s fintech startup Alumak to provide working capital for online merchants.

Gojek offers gold investment in collaboration with Pluang

Gojek has introduced an online gold investment feature in collaboration with Pluang, a fintech firm the ride-hailing app acquired last year through its VC arm Go Ventures.

The story was first reported by KrAsia.

The feature, dubbed as Go Investasi, allows users to sell and buy gold online (as little as 0.01 gram) on the Gojek platform. The business operation also secured a certificate from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

The payment option available for buying gold on its platform is through GoPay.

Gojek led a $3-million Series A funding round in Pluang. The investment came after the company rebranded itself from EmasDigi to Pluang.

The company claims to provide users real-time liquidity and peace of mind as the gold is kept in a government-backed institution through the official Indonesian commodities exchange.

Pluang had previously bagged funding from Celebes Capital dan PT Catur Kusuma Abadi Sejahtera.

Indonesia’s other unicorns, Tokopedia and Bukalapak, had also launched gold investment products ahead of Gojek as the firms see a growing opportunity in this mode of investment.

Lazada partners Jakarta-based fintech firm Alumak

Southeast Asia’s e-commerce firm Lazada has partnered with Indonesia’s fintech startup Alumak to provide working capital to online merchants severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, e27 reported.

Sellers who have been using the Lazada platform for the past six months would be eligible to apply for a loan of up to $5,000. To withdraw the loan, they just need to sign up via Alumak’s platform.

The partnership aims to empower online merchants in an effort to keep their business afloat.

“Hopefully, with empowered sellers, we will be able to help the Indonesian economy bounce back faster as SMEs and e-commerce sellers are the foundation of the economy,” said Haikal Bekti Anggoro, Vice President of Traffic Operations at Lazada.

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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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