Tokopedia: Indonesian Ecommerce Giant

The War for the Indonesian Ecommerce Market

Intro Note

My name is Mikal — I’m an early-stage tech investor and I was born in Asia, grew up in Africa and now live in the US. Every week in my newsletter Emergent I break down a fast-growing business in an emerging market to understand its product, market and growth strategy.

This week I’m breaking down Tokopedia.

Southeast Asia is the fastest growing economic region in the world — growing over 5% per year. The region has been transformed in the last decade with ecommerce and digital payments in particular having grown exponentially. One of the companies that best embodies this growth story is Indonesian ecommerce giant Tokopedia — thanks to its sheer scale.

Tokopedia is an Amazon-like company connecting merchants with buyers in the Indonesian market. The company sells everything from books and laptops to children’s toys and makeup. In addition, Tokopedia offers its merchants a range of supporting services from loans to logistics, inspired by Amazon Fulfillment and similar to Jumia’s fulfillment service.