Editor’s note: updated with more information on MDI Ventures
Indonesia social commerce platform Evermos announced on Wednesday an oversubscribed Series B funding round of over $30 million led by a new investor, UOB Venture Management’s Asia Impact Investment Fund II.
Other participants in the round included IFC, MDI Ventures (through its KB-MDI Centauri Fund), Telkomsel Mitra Innovation (TMI), and Future Shape.
Existing investors Jungle Ventures and Shunwei Capital also participated in this round.
The fresh funds will be used to expand the leadership and growth teams, to enter new geographies, and to deepen technology development, Evermos said in a statement.
“By leveraging our network of resellers, we are providing a platform for our local SMEs to grow their business while enabling our resellers to generate additional income by selling these local products,” Evermos Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Ghufron Mustaqim said.
The funding came as Indonesia’s social commerce industry is projected to grow to $25 billion by 2022, according to a 2021 McKinsey report. Growth has been further accelerated by COVID-19 with people looking for alternate sources of income. The pandemic had impacted employment opportunities in parts of Indonesia, including job losses seen in some families.
Founded in November 2018, Evermos said it enables individuals (resellers) to sell locally sourced products to their community via WhatsApp or social media platforms. Evermos manages the inventory, logistics, and customer support on its tech-enabled platform, empowering these resellers to operate their own businesses without the need for capital.
Today, Evermos has generated micro-entrepreneurship opportunities for more than 100,000 active resellers across 500 plus Tier 2 and 3 cities and regencies.
Products from 500 plus brands, of which more than 95 percent are sourced from local SMEs, are curated and made available on the platform. These encompass a wide range of products suited to the Indonesian lifestyle including Moslem fashion, halal health and beauty products, halal food and beverage products, etc.
The business has seen rapid growth with total transaction value increasing by more than 60 times over the last two years, the company said.
Evermos said it has super-charged online buying in tier 2 & 3 cities in Indonesia by democratizing entrepreneurship for resellers, creating better buying experiences & assortment for consumers, and developing a ready consumer base for the local SMEs.
“Our vision is to empower 1 million micro-entrepreneurs over the next 5 years. One of the key factors that influence how we run our company is by measuring the sustainability and societal impact of our platform. A share of the company’s income is used for the upliftment of individuals and SMEs in lower-tier cities. Currently, we are running a pilot program ‘Desa Evermos’ with almost 100 villages in Indonesia to partner with the local businesses located in the village and convert the underproductive local residents into community assets by becoming our resellers,” Evermos President and Co-Founder Arip Tirta said.
“The population of more than 200 million living outside tier 1 cities in Indonesia represents a huge opportunity for Evermos given the consumer demand. As e-commerce penetration in these areas tends to be low partly due to low internet connectivity, logistics challenges, and distrust or unfamiliarity of online shopping, Evermos’s innovative social commerce model can bridge the gap by enabling social sellers to market products to these consumers,” UOB Venture Management Senior Director Clarissa Loh said.
Evermos is a member of the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Innovators Community, an invitation-only group of the world’s most promising start-ups and scale-ups that are at the forefront of technological and business model innovation. Evermos said it is Indonesia’s largest reseller-based social commerce platform, targeting tier 2 & 3 cities in Indonesia, and has a network of resellers who will sell products from local brands to their network.
UOB Venture Management (UOBVM) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB), a bank in Asia with a global network of around 500 branches and offices.
Since 1992, UOBVM has been providing financing to privately-held companies in Southeast Asia and Greater China through direct equity investment. UOBVM has assets under management in excess of S$2 billion ($1.48 billion).
Featured image credit: Evermos
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