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Gojek secures Facebook, PayPal investment
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echnology giant Gojek has announced that American tech companies Facebook and PayPal have invested an undisclosed amount in its new round of funding, joining other high-profile global corporations such as Google and Tencent.
The funds would be used to focus on increasing digital economic growth in Southeast Asia, especially payment and financial services inclusion for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), said the decacorn, which means the company is valued at more than US$10 billion.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that a resilient economy requires support from reliable digital infrastructure,” said Gojek’s co-CEO Andre Soelistyo in a statement on Wednesday. “With this collaboration, we will continue to speed up digital economy inclusion, especially when the majority of SMEs in Southeast Asia still rely on cash transactions.”
Gojek is the first Indonesian company to receive an investment from Facebook, with the social media company looking to create opportunities for businesses in Indonesia through its instant messaging service, WhatsApp.
“Gojek, WhatsApp and Facebook are important services in Indonesia. Through this cooperation, we can help millions of SMEs and their customers to join the largest digital economy community in Southeast Asia,” said WhatsApp chief operating officer Matt Idema.
Facebook has been on a mission to widen the market for its digital payment services, as the company talked with several e-wallet companies in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Gojek has agreed to integrate PayPal into Gojek’s payment system, GoPay, giving GoPay users access to the PayPal network of 25 million merchants worldwide.
PayPal head of corporate development and ventures for APAC Farhad Maleki said that Southeast Asia was at a very crucial point in the process of digital adoption, which could create new opportunities to provide financial services to unbanked consumers.
“We are very excited about entering into a strategic relationship with Gojek to expand access and provide new experiences for our users in this very dynamic market,” he said.
While Facebook and PayPal had only recently invested in Gojek, Google and Tencent have been investors since 2018.
“Gojek has been active in supporting financial inclusion for SMEs, and we are proud to strengthen our collaboration through additional investments,” said Jeffrey Li, vice president of Tencent Holdings and managing partner of Tencent Investment.
Gojek has raised a combined total of Rp 14.5 billion in fresh capital injection from seven investors this year.
