Social Commerce Platform Super Secures 405 Billion Rupiah Series B Funding Led by Softbank Ventures Asia

Social commerce platform Super announced a series B funding of $28 million (over 405 billion Rupiah) led by Softbank Ventures Asia. Several investors returned to participate in this round, including Amasia, Insignia Ventures Partners, Y Combinator Continuity Fund, and Stephen Pagliuca (Co-Chairman of Bain Capital and Owner of Boston Celtics). New investors included in this series are Partners from DST Global and TNB Aura.

To date, Super has raised funding worth more than $36 million (more than IDR 502 billion), which is claimed to be the largest for a social commerce company in Indonesia. The series A round had previously been held by the companyearlier last year and succeeded with $7 million (more than Rp.101 billion) led by Amasia. With the participation of some other investors, Y Combinator, B Capital, Insignia Ventures Partners, Alpha JWC Ventures, Indonesia FMCG Group UNIFAM, Mari Elka Pangestu, and Arrive, part of the Roc Nation founded by Jay-Z.

The fresh money will be used to increase the company's business activities in East Java, as its headquarter, and expand to other provinces in eastern Indonesia this year. In addition, Super business which focuses on FMCG products will expand its product range, as well as develop a white label brand, called SuperEats.

In an official statement, Super's Co-Founder & CEO, Steven Wongsoredjo said that as a consumer tech-company, Super's mission is to provide equal economic access for all people. Currently, the grocery price in Indonesian regions and remote areas can reach 200% higher than the price in Jakarta. However, the purchasing power of people in remote areas is not as large as those in the capital city area.

“I think it's unfair when a mother in a remote area can only afford one glass of milk, while with the same amount of money she can buy two or three glasses of milk in Jakarta. We want to provide a fair price for people everywhere, that's why we built Super,” Steven explained, Thursday (29/4).

Some of the representative investors also commented on this. Softbank Ventures Asia's partner, Cindy Jim said, the social commerce trend is increasing in the global industry, they are also proud of the Super team's commitment to the remote areas of Indonesia with lack of attention.

“We believe that a hyperlocal team like them [Super] will be able to navigate and build a platform in Indonesia. Super is at the forefront of capturing the momentum of social commerce in remote areas in Indonesia,” Cindy said.

Amasia's Co-Founder & Managing Partner, John Kim added, “There are more than two families living outside Jakarta and the majority of trading is still offline. This great opportunity will present great competition, but Steven is a leader with a solid mission. We will continue to support Super on the way forward."

Super currently operates in 17 cities in East Java. The company utilizes a hyperlocal logistics platform to distribute consumer goods to agents in less than 24 hours after ordering. Super works with thousands of agents to distribute thousands to millions of goods every month. Most of these agents are women.

It is said, by linking large suppliers to small agents, Super was able to reduce the need for excess warehouses and fleets in the less effective supply chain. In this way, as the company expands its reach, Super helps reduce carbon emissions in Indonesia.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian