- Premium Content It takes our newsroom weeks - if not months - to investigate and produce stories for our premium content. You can’t find them anywhere else.
TIA Bot · · 1 min readThese funds have not invested in Indonesia in the past year
What if a fund has stopped investing in your market for quite some time?
This could mean a few things: The backer might be waiting for a better time to invest, shifting their focus away from the region, or still raising money for a new fund. It could also be because the market is no longer a priority for them.
Remember, timing your outreach to an investor is crucial.
This list includes funds that have backed at least one company in Indonesia in the past two years but have not joined any funding round for tech startups over the last 12 months.
As always, our database is a work in progress. So drop us a note at research@techinasia.com if you spot any inaccuracies or missing information.
For more of our automated data-driven pieces, head here. You can also access our complete database here.
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- Premium Content It takes our newsroom weeks - if not months - to investigate and produce stories for our premium content. You can’t find them anywhere else.
Isa Martinez · · 6 min readJollibee’s café-buying spree brews a showdown with startups
With additional analysis by Miguel Cordon
The scent of butter and coffee drifts onto High Street Café, a food hall located in Metro Manila, Philippines. Inside, bakers stack croissants and kouign-amanns as baristas fire up espresso machines.
A month in, Tiong Bahru Bakery’s first outpost outside Singapore is buzzing. The crowd? Young, well-heeled, and eager for the flaky pastries served on blue and teal ceramics.
Behind the bakery sits a familiar sight – an outlet of Jollibee, the Philippines’ largest fast-food chain famous for its Chickenjoy fried chicken.
What do these food and beverage brands have in common? They share the same parent firm.
Valued at US$4.5 billion, Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) has made some notable moves into the café scene lately.
The largest fast-food chain in the Philippines, Jollibee is famous for Chickenjoy – its crispy, juicy fried chicken. / Photo credit: Tupungato/Shutterstock
Besides Tiong Bahru Bakery, the company also launched Singapore’s Common Man Coffee Roasters in the Philippines last year. In 2024, JFC bought the majority controlling stake in South Korea-based Compose Coffee for US$238 million.
This deal follows the F&B giant’s US$350 million purchase of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf six years ago. So why is JFC still doubling down on trendy coffee brands?
Betting on “affordable luxury”
Earlier this week, the company reported a 17.7% net income for 2024, fueled by strong domestic demand and its acquisition of Compose Coffee.
The Korean coffeehouse chain accounted for 7.9% of the growth in JFC’s international business’ system-wide sales (SWS), the company said.
Of course, the acquisition quickly added 2,629 stores to JFC’s global footprint, which could explain the high contribution.
Its coffee and tea business, which includes Compose Coffee and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, opened 361 shops in 2024 and currently has a total of over 5,000 stores. The unit “saw strong sales and operating profit growth in 2024,” noted Richard Shin, JFC’s group chief financial and risk officer in the latest earnings release.
Jollibee takes on coffee startups
Who will win over the mid-market?
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Hello reader,
Like a lot of Westerners who now call Southeast Asia home, my first visit to the region was on a backpacking trip in my early 20s.
When deciding where to stay as I traveled across the region back then, I always kept budget in mind. This meant opting for hostels and hotels that were, to put it kindly, lacking in a few areas.
Now that I’m in my 30s, though, you couldn’t pay me to stay in dingy accommodations. Well, it goes to show that for most of us, our tastes thankfully change with age.
Today’s featured story dives into hotel booking platform RedDoorz and its first profitable year. I’ve found one particularly interesting nugget – the firm is adapting its offerings to the changing tastes of its customers. It’s probably a smart move for growth.
Today we look at:
- RedDoorz opening the door to profit
- Nivara scoring US$28 million in funding
- Other newsy highlights such as Microsoft’s Satya Nadella planning a visit to South Korea and Zomato facing an insolvency petition over alleged unpaid dues
Premium summary
RedDoorz no longer in the red
Singapore-based RedDoorz hit a milestone in 2024: its first-ever year of positive adjusted earnings.
How did the hotel booking and management platform do it? The answer is focus, according to co-founder and CEO Amit Saberwal.
- Playing to its strengths: Last year, RedDoorz withdrew from Singapore and Vietnam. The goal was to focus on its operations in Indonesia and the Philippines, where its business model is better suited. It also divested from some of its units.
- Leveling up: The firm is also diversifying its offering by moving beyond budget accommodation and offering upscale choices via specialized brands.
- Waiting strategically: RedDoorz’s IPO plans, which were first announced in 2019, are still up in the air. Saberwal says the company is in “wait and watch mode” until it sees successful IPOs from its peers.
Read more: Focus leads to fortune for RedDoorz in 2024
News spotlight
Nivara in Nirvana with funding
Image credit: Timmy Loen
India-based home finance startup Nivara has locked in US$28 million in a series B funding round led by True North.
Existing investor Baring Private Equity and promoters Sunil Rohokale and Monik Koticha also participated in the round.
- Goals: The firm plans to use the capital to boost its tech platform, expand its distribution network, develop fresh credit solutions, and enter new markets.
- Business model: Nivara provides affordable home loans to micro-entrepreneurs and informal salaried customers, with loan amounts ranging from US$5,768 to US$8,653.
- Network: The company has 68 branch offices across five states in India.
See also: India’s startup funding, as explained in charts
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Quick bytes
1️⃣ Satya’s got Seoul
Microsoft’s chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella, is set to visit South Korea to meet with top executives from KT Corp, LG Electronics, and HD Hyundai and deliver the opening keynote at the Microsoft AI Tour in Seoul. The tech giant’s head honcho will arrive on March 26 for his first visit to the country in two years.
2️⃣ Payment pickle
Indian food delivery platform Zomato is facing an insolvency petition over alleged unpaid dues of US$188,933. Nona Lifestyle, a B2B apparel manufacturer, alleges that Zomato did not pay for uniforms and custom merchandise related to orders placed in 2023.
3️⃣ Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a satellite!
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs is exploring a partnership with Amazon’s low-Earth orbit satellite project to boost internet accessibility in remote areas. Amazon Kuiper is seeking operational licenses to comply with the country’s regulations for foreign enterprises.
4️⃣ Charged up
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has unveiled a new EV platform that incorporates a 1,000-volt architecture, allowing for faster charging. The firm says cars can cover distances up to 400 kilometers after charging on the platform for 5 minutes.
Recommended reads
Weekly funding: Israel-based Kela raises $28m
Unexpected yet practical insights for community building
Quick meals, high costs: inside India’s 10-minute food fight
WeLab Bank cracked Hong Kong. Now it’s taking on Southeast Asia
A deepening economic crisis in Indonesia
Cambodia eyes the big leagues after Grab bets on local firm
Buy, sell, and pay: 5 insights into SEA’s payments landscape
Asia layoff tracker: Job cuts at Nio, Deliveroo
Mapping the rise of humanoid robotics companies worldwide
GoTo posts profit, bets on fintech amid Indonesia economy jitters
Edited by Mina Deocareza
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