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Fresh meat: VCs pour funds into burgeoning e-grocery segment
The grocery segment was the biggest gainer and gross merchandise value (GMV) driver in the e-commerce industry during the first six months of 2020.
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Pasar Modern Bintaro, South Tangerang, Banten, on Juli 19, 2018. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
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nvestors are scrambling to fund online grocery start-ups after the fresh food segment grew exponentially last year, driven by rising demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
At least six investment deals have gone to local e-grocery start-ups to date, three of which were early rounds for relatively new companies Pasarnow and Segari. The deals, ranging from US$3.3 million to $69.5 million, involved several notable venture capital firms, including BRI Ventures, East Ventures, GoTo's Go-Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Telkom’s MDI Ventures and Astra International’s Astra Digital.
The grocery segment was the biggest gainer and gross merchandise value (GMV) driver in the e-commerce industry during the first six months of 2020, according to a report from management consulting company Redseer, a trend that had whet investors’ appetite for e-grocery start-ups.
The firm predicted that Indonesia’s e-groceries GMV would reach $13 billion by 2025, which would amount to a 51 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from only $7 million in 2018.
“Online grocery [shopping] has been developing nicely during the pandemic. The prospects for this market are bright,” Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) economist Nailul Huda said on Thursday.
Read also: Online grocery shopping to drive e-commerce growth as PSBB reimposed: Experts
Relatively new e-grocery start-ups Pasarnow and Segari simultaneously announced on Tuesday that they had received several million dollars in funding to expand their operations following a multifold revenue increase amid the pandemic.
