Bukalapak Partners Strengthen Digital Features, Now Have Bookkeeping and Debt Recording Services

Almost five years ago, Bukalapak initiated a program that used to be called "Juragan Pulsa Bukalapak", the forerunner of Mitra Bukalapak. Now, Mitra Bukalapak has 7 million MSMEs joined in it, consisting of traditional warungs and individual agents spread outside of first-tier cities in Indonesia.

The products sold at Mitra Bukalapak are increasingly diverse, ranging from FMCG products, fresh products, fashion, electronic products, motor vehicle spare parts, and 42 types of virtual products that keep people connected on an O2O basis. Described further, these 42 virtual products include payment services, financial products, logistics, travel and SaaS services.

The last point is interesting to note. In an official statement distributed by the company today (23/4), it was stated that the SaaS product consists of bookkeeping, debt records, and poster distribution. This feature is made user-friendly, so it will look like you are making general bookkeeping in writing.

later, financial bookkeeping app player for stalls are on the rise because of the large opportunities for MSMEs that have not been touched by digital services. As a result, many players have emerged and their vision and mission are supported by investors. The names are Cash book, BukuWarung, Credibok, Moodah, Lababook, and others. This opportunity was also taken by Bukalapak, thanks to the MSME base that has been formed, it will be easier to process roll out-New.

CEO of Buka Mitra Indonesia, Howard Gani, said that his party will always provide the most complete variety of product types, both physical and virtual, to the public. "This is one form of support for Bukalapak's efforts to encourage progress in digitizing traditional stalls and individual agents so that they have an impact on improving community welfare and developing Indonesia's economic inclusion," he said.

All Mitra Bukalapak products, he continued, were presented to close the technology gap and provide market access for anyone. Bukalapak partners are also committed to increasing financial and digital literacy for the community, especially the community unbanked and underbanked which has been difficult to access virtual product services due to limited space and infrastructure, especially during the pandemic.

The announcement of the Series G investment received by Bukalapak from the ranks of financial industry investors, such as BRI Ventures, Mandiri Capital Indonesia, Standard Chartered, it is certain that this year there will be more development of innovative financial products so that gap may decrease in the future.

The latest data from the central bank shows as many as 87,5% of MSMEs are affected by the economic downturn driven by the pandemic. However, this also shows that 27,6% of MSMEs operating independently online really see an increase in sales in 2020 and beyond. This illustrates the growing importance for companies of all shapes and sizes to embrace business models online and digital adaptation in emerging Asia.

The partnership strategy with MSMEs has in fact become a separate business opportunity for players E-commerce. Apart from Bukalapak, other platforms such as Tokopedia and Shopee also have similar programs. The potential is quite large, from the analysis we made last year there were at least 92 million potential new customers that could be captured through this kind of program.