Business Focus and Indonesia's Surplus Fundraising Plan

Currently Surplus has experienced positive growth as a food waste prevention app. The year 2022 is a special momentum for companies to move forward, providing relevant services and products to target users. At the same time helping more related industries to reduce the rate food waste they.

To DailySocial.id, CEO Surplus Indonesia Muhammad Agung Saputra conveyed the plan for Surplus Indonesia. Starting from completing the initial stage of fundraising, owning a warehouse, and increasing the amount merchant.

Positive business growth

If at the beginning a surplus appears, you still have to educate merchant and users, currently the company claims to be quite comfortable with the awareness and understanding of the target users. Increase awareness young generation to follow a healthy lifestyle and focus on the environment to become benefits separate for the company today.

From the side merchant which today many come from bakeries, kafe, restaurants, to hotels, which at first they were still reluctant to partner with, now they actually have special SOPs for Surplus. With this collaboration, several partners were even able to reduce the rate food waste or their product stock is up to 80%. This has become a source of pride for Surplus, which has also become a catalyst for the F&B industry to manage food waste they.

To be able to get merchant from hotel and restaurant chains, according to Agung, it requires a fairly long and challenging process. There were problems at the start, but now many hotels and restaurants are starting to decide to join Surplus.

"Process to get decision maker di template or hotel/restaurant chains is not easy. "Moreover, this is something new, but when many hotel chains started joining, it became an attraction for them," said Agung.

Currently, Surplus has recorded around 100 thousand application downloads and 2 thousand merchant more spread across 11 cities such as Jabodetabek, Bandung, Jogjakarta, Solo, Malang, Surabaya, and Bali. If previously they were the ones who picked up the ball, now they are Word of Mouth among partners, many partners began to offer themselves directly to join the Surplus ecosystem.

Hotel chains such as The Ascott Limited, ARTOTEL Group, and Swiss-Belhotel International have become part of Surplus. There are already around 100 hotels that have established strategic collaborations with Surplus. In the future, Surplus also wants to attract more FMCG and retail players to take advantage of Surplus' services and technology.

For Surplus delivery, we still rely on services from GrabExpress and GoSend. However, to launch their campaign to care more about the environment, they are also implementing the Pick Your Own option at the nearest F&B service location more aggressively.

"We note that currently most customers are from the younger generation such as Gen Z and millennials. They are a generation that already has a very high awareness of environmental and social care. Although it is still very niche "But we are sure that in the future we will be able to reach even more customers," said Agung.

Initial fundraising plan

To be able to have a warehouse that can accommodate temporary stock from FMCG and retail, Surplus is currently raising initial funds. If they meet the target, they will complete the funding by the end of 2022. Previously, Surplus was a startup that did not focus too much on fundraising activities. Utilise grant or grants, the company is able to run business and operations with the support of a team of 12 people.

"2022 will be the most appropriate time for startups that focus on the environment and ESG such as Surplus. With the G20 event which focuses on climatetech and environment. On the other hand, there are also starting to be many platforms renewable energy to electric motorbikes that are present in Indonesia. The hope is that there will be more platforms greentech in the country so as to further develop the ecosystem," said Agung

When asked about the investors involved in this initial funding, Agung was reluctant to explain further. However, according to him, it is foreign investors who pay the most special attention to startups like Surplus.

Before carrying out the initial stage of fundraising from investors, Surplus also had time to do it through crowdfunding. However, due to difficulties in getting donors due to the lack of funds awareness Surplus in foreign countries, the target they wanted was not achieved.

"From there we see that foreign countries have warning very high will climatetech and environmental & social impact. Even for surpluses that they don't know, they are still willing to provide funds in kind through crowdfunding. The presence of foreign startup founders who launched the platform greentech in Indonesia then also became a trigger for local startup activists to be able to present a platform greentech, said the Great.

Currently, it is recorded that many investors and angel investors are interested in investing in it greentech in Indonesia. Among others are MDI Ventures who plans to launch an Impact Fund, to Achmad Zaky Foundation (AZF) which has invested in energy efficiency developers utilizing smart technology in Indonesia, Powerbrain.

East Ventures (Growth Fund) previously also led funding for renewable energy startup Xurya. Meanwhile, Kejora-SBI Orbit has invested in a technology company that is building battery exchange infrastructure in Indonesia, SWAP Energy. And recently DeClout Ventures has provided investment to the electric motorbike developer, Charged Indonesia.

WIND In 2021, a report entitled "Investing in Impact in Indonesia" was released. The report revealed that the focus of each impact investor is also different. ANGIN noted thematically, there are 10 types of impact businesses that are the focus of each, divided into financial inclusion, forestry, clean energy, poverty, gender lens, circular economy, fisheries, climate, agriculture, and media. Each of these themes reflects opportunities and challenges in Indonesia.

"We hope that in the future, if Surplus has completed its initial funding, it can be an opening for other startups that also focus on ESG to be able to get funding too," said Agung.

Startup potential greentech in Indonesia

According to Agung, there are several reasons why in the end not many startup activists are interested in offering environmentally themed services and products. One of them is that it is difficult to monetize and there are no regulations that can provide it punishment or incentive to related parties.

For startups to be able to provide relevant services and remain focused on protecting the environment, they must truly understand the services or products that will be provided. One way is to conduct comprehensive research, carry out trials and errors and have passion big thing so you don't give up quickly.

"They have to know the specific environmental problems, then they have to know grassroots-his. In its own surplus grassroots What we understand is that Indonesian people like discounts and are used to ordering food and drinks online online. By understanding grassroots "This will create direct change," said Agung.

To speed things up awareness and business growth, Surplus also aggressively carries out strategic cooperation with the government and related parties. These include the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and the Ministry of BUMN.

"In the end, I see that Indonesia is starting to go in that direction. Following the ecosystem in other countries which are already focused on ESG and climate technology. If renewable energythe hype "As it expands, it will also spread to other platforms," ​​said Agung.