Cakap Announces Series C Funding, Claim Has Centaur Status

Startups EdTech Cakap announced that it has completed fresh funding in series C1 round from MDI Ventures and Heritas Capital. Although the nominal funding was not stated, Cakap said that it had a valuation of more than three digits and entered the startup ranks with status centaur (valuation between $100 million-$1 billion, one stage below unicorn).

These two VCs are investors Existing Proficient, before they led series B . round which was completed in 2021 for $10 million.

The funds obtained are planned to be used for business development towards blended learning (offline and online). The company will strengthen the performance of its business units in three pillars, namely language, upskill, as well as business.

In an official statement delivered today (12/4), Cakap Co-founder and CEO Tomy Yunus conveyed society's dynamic behavior and ways of learning, triggering his party to be adaptive in providing learning solutions that are more relevant in the post-pandemic era and in the future.

"Cakap hopes to bridge market demand with a mixed learning system/blended learning. With more options like blended learning"It will be easier for people to choose a way of learning that is tailored to their individual interests and needs," explained Tomy.

MDI Ventures CEO Donald Wiharja also provided his response. He hopes that this latest funding can further strengthen the synergy between the Telkom Group as a whole and MDI in particular, with Cakap, which has been well established so far. For example, in the first quarter of this year, Cakap, together with communications provider Telkomcel from Timor Leste, has expanded learning to this region of the country.

"So we hope that the latest funding will not only strengthen Cakap as a business, but also produce results impact positive social impact on education in Indonesia," he said.

Meanwhile, Heritas Capital CEO & Executive Director Chik Wai Chiew said, "As a platform upskilling, Cakap has demonstrated a good track record from a prominent operational and financial perspective in Indonesia. We look forward to Cakap's strong implementation in expanding the solution EdTechand accelerate access to quality and affordable learning and education, for the Indonesian people and beyond."

Tomy continued, as his status increased to centaur, the company carried out internal organizational restructuring. Appointed Jonathan Dharmasoeka as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Cecilia Ong as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Previously, Jonathan served as Chief of Business Officer, while Cecilia served as VP of CEO Office.

Although Tomy did not detail Cakap's latest achievements, he claimed to have achieved them EBITDA positive in three consecutive years and operates efficiently so it does not downsizing. The total number of Cakap users is said to have reached three million people.

Following are the company's business achievements:

• Three consecutive years of posting profits with positive EBITDA margins
• Revenue grows 10x throughout 2020-2022;
• Has more than three million users, from the productive age group 20-39 years spread across 96 of a total of 98 cities in Indonesia;
• Company revenue contributors: Languages ​​account for 50%, then Upskill and Business account for the rest;
• Having more than 1.800 teachers coming from Indonesia, as well as countries in Asia Pacific and Europe;
• Established more than 600 partnerships with educational institutions, companies, government agencies, and foundations. One of them is collaboration with provider Telkomcel from Timor-Leste to provide learning programs from Portuguese to non-language skills.