Indonesian financial management app BukuKas raises seed funding
via Tech in Asia
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of Indonesia’s economy, accounting for about 60% of the country’s gross domestic product. Most of these small businesses, however, still track their financial activities with pen and paper, which can lead to inefficiencies and lost profits.
To help solve this, two former Lazada employees launched BukuKas, a financial management app that provides simple bookkeeping solutions for Indonesian MSMEs.
Founded in December last year by Krishnan Menon and Lorenzo Peracchione, BukuKas helps small businesses understand and manage their financial flows more effectively through a digital ledger that can be accessed on their smartphones. Since many neighborhood stores let people buy using credit, the app also allows business owners to send WhatsApp reminders to customers when credit is due.
Menon and Peracchione met at Lazada Indonesia in 2012. Back then, Menon was onboarding merchants to the ecommerce platform, while Peracchione was leading Lazada’s buying ops.
Now, their venture BukuKas just raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Surge, Sequoia India’s Southeast Asia- and India-focused accelerator, to expand the capabilities of its app. Credit Saison, Hustle Fund, Whiteboard Capital, 500 Startups, and several angel investors also participated in the round, according to a statement.
BukuKas plans to use the new funds to offer neo-banking services. The company also recently announced a collaboration with insurtech startup Qoala, which recently raised US$13.5 million in its series A round, to provide affordable insurance products to its users.
BukuKas said that its app is currently being used by a wide range of industries, including fashion, food and beverage, electronics, and phone credit.
The startup also claims that from the start of the year through March, it has seen a 20x growth in users and a 60x increase in transactions. As of April, BukuKas said it serves over 250,000 merchants, recording more than US$150 million worth of transactions.
