Dino Patti Djalal Enters Startup World, Launches Waqara Umrah Marketplace

Dino Patti Djalal marked his new adventure in the startup world by launching an Umrah marketplace called PT Waqara Jasa Bangsa. Waqara is said to not only provide Umrah services but also become a place for shopping for Umrah needs.

Dino, as the Founder and CEO of Waqara, said that the reason for their presence as an Umrah marketplace is to help pilgrims get quality Umrah services. A number of fraud cases by umrah travel agents have motivated them to make technology that is safe and comfortable for pilgrims.

"We want enable entire Umrah industry. Not only from the financial aspect, but also from the security and technology," said the former Indonesian ambassador to the United States.

As a marketplace, Waqara sells various types of Umrah packages at a price of Rp. 19 million to Rp. 30 million and above. According to Dino, the number of packages offered will continue to grow as more travel agents join them.

Currently, there are 25 Umrah travel agents in Waqara. That number is certain to increase to 50 next month and is targeted to be 100 by the end of this year.

Even so, Dino emphasized that his party and their partner banks made selection criteria to be free from travel agents who had a bad history in sending their congregations.

"But the most important thing is not quantity. Everyone who participates is guaranteed integrity, there are no cases and so on. So when people register with us, we feel safe," added Dino.

In its launch at the Ritz Carlton, Mega Kuningan, Jakarta, Waqara does have quite a few features to support their Umrah marketplace. These features include an order tracking system, bank financing options, opening a first bank account, various payment options, insurance failure to leave, to WaqaraMall which sells halal products.

Waqara collaborates with a number of partners in each of its features, such as BNI, BNI Syariah, Mandiri, Mandiri Syariah, BCA, BCA Syariah, BRI, BRI Syariah, and BFI Multifinance Syariah for financing matters and Blibli for WaqaraMall.

From the insurance aspect, the Waqara application offers failed departure insurance which is claimed for the first time in Indonesia. They even say the money that can be returned from the insurance can be up to 95 percent.

Waqara's funding status is still at the bootstrap level and is still looking for investors. Waqara's Presence tighten Umrah marketplace players in Indonesia such as Periumroh, Kitaumroh, Umroh.com.

The Umrah market is not an arbitrary business in Indonesia. The number of Indonesian Umrah pilgrims last year was more than 1 million people with a market value of around Rp. 20 trillion. It's no wonder that Umrah travel agent businesses are swarming this business, including Abu Tours and First Travel, two companies that failed to send their pilgrims for Umrah.

Finally, the government through the Ministry of Religion developed the Umrah Online application to minimize naughty Umrah pilgrims. The government plans to involve Traveloka and Tokopedia.