Astra Group Confirms Two Trillion Rupiah Investment for Go-Jek

Astra Group confirmed an initial investment into the digital sector of US$150 million (2 trillion Rupiah) for Go-Jek. It is hoped that with this investment the two companies can carry out many business collaborations as an effort to develop MSMEs in Indonesia.

The signing of the memorandum of understanding was held today (12/2), attended by Astra International President Director Prijono Sugiarto, Go-Jek CEO and Founder Nadiem Makarim, and witnessed by the Minister of Communication and Information Rudiantara.

According to Prijono, the investment disbursed by Astra comes from the internal cash of Astra International's parent company. His party expressed interest in Go-Jek because historically Nadiem and his team had strong power to advance unicorn startups in this on-demand sector.

Between Astra and Go-Jek is said to have a common thread that can be the first step to collaborate with each other. Astra has a core business in the automotive sector with the largest market share in Indonesia. Likewise, Go-Jek is now claimed to have more than one million drivers, more than 125 business partners, and several other achievements.

"Historically, when Nadiem came to us about three years ago, we saw that there was a high enthusiasm for advancing Go-Jek. I saw Go-Jek being one of the local companies that changed the world according to Fortune. Finally we decided to join Go-Jek because there is a common thread and it is a good start to be developed together," he explained.

The entry of Astra as an investor, according to Nadiem, is said to be a local investor with the largest value compared to other investors in this latest round of funds. Not only that, this investment is the largest Astra has made for a digital company.

He also confirmed that Astra was included in a funding round that included Google, Temasek, and Meituan-Dianping. However, Nadiem did not provide confirmation regarding the acquisition of funds obtained from this latest fundraising.

A number of media stated that the total funds that Go-Jek expected reached $1,2-1,5 billion (around 15-20 trillion Rupiah) to compete in the market. on-demand face Grab and Ubers. Previously mentioned also Go-Jek received investment from another local conglomerate, through Blibli, of around $100-120 million. In total, these two companies inject capital of around IDR 3-3,5 trillion for Go-Jek.

"The meaning of this investment for Go-Jek is that traditionally there are still more outside investors who invest in local startups. However, Astra has been a pioneer in proving that the digital economy is real. This will be the history of other companies [that] will follow. Now the paradigm has changed." no 'should I [invest in startup]', but 'when and how much'," said Nadiem.