BukuKas raises US$9M pre-Series A from Surge, Credit Saison, others
BukuKas, a digital ledger app for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia, has secured US$9 million in a pre-series A round of investment from a host of investors, including existing backers Surge by Sequoia India and Credit Saison.
Speedinvest, S7V, January Capital and Cambium Grove Capital also joined the round, which brings the company’s total funds raised to US$12 million.
BukuKas will utilise the capital to expand its product offerings and “build on its market leadership in Indonesia”.
Started in 2019 by Krishnan M Menon and Lorenzo Peracchione, BukuKas helps owners of MSMEs understand and manage their financial flows effectively with a free-to-use digital ledger mobile app.
Many small businesses in Indonesia still traditionally manage their finances using pen and paper. They struggle to get visibility and have no clue about the profits they earn.
The BukuKas app provides a book-keeping solution that can record sales, expenses, accounts receivable, and debt. With the app, merchants can gain better visibility on what drives their profits and cash flow, enabling them to actively improve their business processes.
The app also sends reminders to its customers to pay back.
According to the founder, the process helps small business owners achieve up to 20 per cent cost reduction and save two to four hours per day by avoiding manual calculations and reconciliation.
Since inception, BukuKas said it has partnered with about 900,000 small merchants and retailers and the app is used in over 700 cities and districts across Indonesia.
“The speed at which BukuKas has grown in the last eight months since launch has shown us that more than ever, Indonesian small businesses are ready to go digital. About 73 per cent of merchants are outside of tier-1 cities today — and very few products and services are built for them. BukuKas is committed to reaching them, they are the real Indonesia, the spine of our economy. And helping them prosper is our only goal,” said Menon.
BukuKas is also backed by several angel investors, including Amrish Rao (Pinelabs, Citrus pay), Edward Tirtanata (Kopi Kenangan), Willy Arifin (KoinWorks, Alternate Ventures), Nipun Mehra (Ula, Sequoia India), Patrick Walujo (Northstar Ventures), Sandeep Tandon (FreeCharge) and Jonathan Swanson (Thumbtack).