Indonesian fishery startup secures more funding from existing shareholders

Indonesian fishery platform startup Aruna has closed a USD 5.5 million (EUR 4.6 million) funding round with its current investors, following a jump in its revenue in the first half, The Jakarta Post reported on 13 August.

The fund was raised from Indonesian venture capital entities AC Ventures, East Ventures, and SMDV, the venture capital unit of the Sinar Mas Group.

The startup was founded in 2016 with the aim to leverage technology to create a fair trading of seafood products while improving the livelihoods of fishermen.

Aruna has been working with thousands of fishermen in 31 coastal regions in Indonesia. The latest capital injection will be used to further develop its fishermen community, improve productivity, product quality, and standards.

The fund will also be used for developing Aruna’s domestic business-to-business (B2B) market and the company’s export markets, which include East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and North America.

“E-commerce helps create fairness and transparency in the fishing industry, as well as a more efficient supply chain. [In] reaching more coastal areas across Indonesia, Aruna is supporting economic equality in Indonesia,” Aruna CEO and Co-founder Farid Naufal Aslam was quoted as saying.

He said the company’s revenue in the first half surged 86 times from the same period last year “on the back of strong global demand for fresh seafood products despite the pandemic.”

Aruna has also introduced Seafood by Aruna, a home delivery service for seafood products, to meet rising demand for food deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, the new service operates in Greater Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan.

In addition, the company is looking for collaboration with resellers following the launch of its official stores on online marketplaces Tokopedia, Shopee, Bukalapak, and GrabMart, and online grocery stores Sayurbox, Nalayan, and Delisari.

Another Indonesian startup in the fishery sector, eFishery, which provides an end-to-end platform to help farmers access to feed, financing and market networks, has recently closed its series B funding round led by Go-Ventures and the Northstar Group. For the last two years, eFishery has achieved profitability in business operation and seen its growth quadrupled, the newspaper said.