Indonesia-based social commerce startup Desty announced that it has secured $3.2 million in a pre-series A funding round.

The investment was led by 5Y Capital (formerly known as Morningside Venture Capital), a venture capital in China that has become the main backer of notable companies like Xiaomi and Kuaishou, according to a statement on Monday.

This move also marks 5Y Capital’s first investment in Indonesia. Participating investors in this round are Fosun RZ Capital, January Capital, IN Capital, as well as East Ventures, who is also Desty’s seed round investor.

Led by Mulyono Xu (Chief Executive Officer) and Bill Wang (Chief Operating Officer) — both experienced founders with extensive backgrounds in e-commerce and VC — Desty will utilize the new funding primarily for team expansion and user acquisition.

“We have our laser focus on serving online merchants and users in the ecosystem. We only have one goal, which is to make sure they can grow their business efficiently. Our team has over 15 years experience with merchants and their digital operations, which we believe is key to the growth of the economy in Indonesia. We can see more dynamics is happening in our market and we are confident we are aiming for the right audience of users to serve,” said Desty Co-Founder and CEO Mulyono.

Desty is a digital platform that helps merchants, influencers, and creators easily build a single online destination to promote and sell their products. Users can create landing pages optimized for links in bios and build their own branded online store in just several minutes for free.

Launched in October 2020, the startup has rapidly grown to become Indonesia’s leading social commerce tool with hundreds of thousands of users.

Desty has brought together an impressive team roster in Indonesia and China. These talents carry the experience from Facebook, Google, Bukalapak, Canva, and other tech leaders to revolutionize Indonesia’s e-commerce space.

Currently, Desty has two main offers, namely Desty Page and Desty Store. Desty Page is a landing page service optimized for links on social media accounts, especially Instagram. Meanwhile, Desty Store provides a platform for users to open an online store to complement their marketplace presence easily.

Desty has also established Desty Academy, the primary channel of information and training resources to help Desty users grow their business with practical how-tos, best practices, and case studies.

“Desty is creating a platform which enables merchants to go digital in five minutes. We have invested in similar companies in India and China, and these solutions create immense value. With a solid team behind Desty, we have no doubt it will change the whole landscape of small medium enterprises in Indonesia and Southeast Asia,” said Fosun RZ Capital Co-Executive President Tej Kapoor said.

“In the e-commerce world, there is a massive opportunity in linking social and content with e-commerce transactions. We have seen this great power when social and content meets e-commerce in China. We believe Desty can become the linking infrastructure in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce world and could contribute to a better ecosystem where social, content, and e-commerce transactions link closer and smoother,” said 5Y Capital Vice-President of Investment Hanson Hu.

Desty said its exponential growth comes at the perfect time to complement Indonesia’s massive e-commerce development during the pandemic. The nation’s online transactions jumped by 18.1 percent to 98.3 million in 2020 while recording 12 million new e-commerce users.

In addition, Desty said Indonesian consumers’ most trusted shopping channels come in various platforms: marketplace (97 percent), business’ own domain/website (91 percent), and social media (82 percent).

“Since our investment late last year, Desty has been paving the way for merchants, influencers, and creators to go online. As a result of the pandemic accelerating this shift to online, there is a continuously stronger use case for Desty and where they fit into the market. We are confident that Desty, backed by a team of experienced founders, will continue to create impact and provide value for the millions of Indonesian online sellers,” said Willson Cuaca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of East Ventures.

Desty is an early-stage startup focusing on providing tools for online sellers, influencers, and creators to create their online presence. Mulyono is one of Indonesia’s e-commerce veterans with years of experience at Alibaba Group, complemented by his unique expertise as a former VC. He is building Desty with Wang, who embodies 17 years of e-commerce experience under Alibaba Group.