📌 MAROKO133 Hot startup: 🚀 Nusantara Lima lifts off. 💸 Accion closes $61.6m fintec
Dear subscribers,
We’re back with a concise briefing for founders, investors, VCs, and regulators across Indonesia, the region, and beyond. Inside: the week’s essential shifts in capital, expansion, partnerships, and policy—distilled for fast decision-making. Enjoy!
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🚨 What’s New
Indonesia launched the Nusantara Lima (N5) satellite on 10 Sep 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral. Owned by PT Satelit Nusantara Lima (a PSN subsidiary) and developed with Boeing and Hughes, N5 operates at 113°E with 160 Gbps capacity—the largest in Southeast Asia. The mission is to extend high-speed internet across the archipelago to enable distance learning, telehealth, and MSME digital participation. Early local impacts—such as service improvements at Airu Community Health Center (Papua) and “digital village” pilots in East Java—point to better public services and broader economic inclusion. [Read more]
Bali-based Bliink unveiled a travel-management platform for MSMEs. A companion whitepaper highlights that 97% of Indonesian businesses are MSMEs, most still managing travel manually—leading to up to 30% cost leakage, 60% higher last-minute fares, 1 in 4 employees misclassifying personal expenses, and hundreds of hours lost to manual processes. CEO Larry Chua targets up to 30% savings via corporate fares, policy controls, integrated booking-to-reimbursement (cutting admin time by up to 50%), pay-as-you-go billing, and 24/7 human + AI support. [Read more]
Investors in Kopi Kenangan—including GIC and Peak XV Partners—are exploring partial stake sales with a financial adviser, according to sources. Talks are early and may not result in a deal or defined stake size. A transaction could value the grab-and-go coffee chain at US$1.2–1.4B (subject to change). Founded in 2017, the company operates 800+ outlets across 45 Indonesian cities, with offices in Jakarta, Singapore, and Malaysia. [Read more]
Awanio partnered with Techna-X Berhad and PMBI Technology Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia) to advance Indonesia’s digital sovereignty through technology transfer, talent development, and a regional innovation hub spanning cloud, virtualization, and AI. The collaboration covers training curricula, Indonesia–Malaysia talent exchanges, and capacity-building for faster, safer cloud adoption in public and private sectors. CEO Irfan Yuta Pratama aims to boost local competencies and regional go-to-market, nurturing competitive “local hyperscaler” capabilities. [Read more]
👏 What’s Exciting
Carro lines up dual-listing options and Australia expansion Carro (Temasek/SoftBank-backed) is evaluating a potential dual listing while preparing an Australia launch and 2–3 acquisitions as early as next quarter, said CEO Aaron Tan. The firm is in talks with banks including HSBC and UBS (no advisers appointed yet); possible venues include the U.S., Hong Kong, and Singapore. Tan highlighted a path to US$120–150m EBITDA next year, aided by 20–30% tech-cost reductions from AI adoption. The push follows last year’s Hong Kong entry via the Beyond Cars acquisition and would bring Carro’s full service suite to Australia.
Accion closes US$61.6m early-stage fintech fund Accion closed Accion Venture Lab Fund II (rebranded to Accion Ventures) at US$61.6m to back ~30 inclusive-fintech startups serving MSMEs and low-income customers across Africa, South & Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the U.S. LPs include FMO, Proparco, ImpactAssets, Ford Foundation, MetLife, and Mastercard. In Indonesia, Accion has previously supported Finfra, Amartha, Semaai, MyRobin, Fairbanc, and Bababos—signaling continued interest in embedded finance and alternative-data solutions, alongside hands-on operational support and networks.
Indonesia’s tech and fintech ecosystem continues to accelerate. Waterhub secured seed funding to scale its clean water innovation, while Flip and Bank Aladin Syariah launched an LPS-guaranteed sharia savings account. SeaBank posted annual profit increase, but challenges persist as scam losses surged in 2025. At the same time, Danantara starts executing strategic investments, and Komdigi’s sends out ultimatum to Roblox.
Looking ahead, QRIS remains the backbone of Indonesia’s payment system, now reaching 57M users in 2025. Cross-border corridors with Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore contributed significantly to QRIS’s growth, while expansion to Japan is already live, with China, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea on the horizon. These developments reinforce QRIS as a model for regional payment integration, boosting both inbound tourism and outbound digital commerce.
Indonesia’s sovereign-linked Danantara realized Rp 179.05T (~USD 11B) in investments in H1 2025, channeling funds into infrastructure, sustainability, and the digital economy. The capital deployment underscores the state’s growing role as both investor and market shaper in key strategic sectors. Read more
Waterhub raises seed funding 💧 Indonesian water-tech startup Waterhub has secured seed investment from Archipelago VC and The Radical Fund. The fresh capital underscores growing investor appetite in climate-tech solutions, with Waterhub positioned to scale innovations that tackle Indonesia’s chronic water access and sustainability challenges—an area with strong regulatory backing and rising demand from both urban and rural markets. Read more
Flip x Bank Aladin launch sharia savings 🏦 Payment platform Flip and Bank Aladin Syariah have rolled out Super Flip Tabungan Syariah, a sharia-compliant savings account guaranteed by LPS (Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation). Beyond expanding Flip’s embedded finance play, the partnership highlights how neobanks are leveraging collaboration to build trust and extend financial inclusion in Indonesia’s large Muslim population—one of the world’s fastest-growing Islamic finance markets. Read more
SeaBank profit up 18% 📈 Sea Group’s SeaBank Indonesia posted IDR 214B (~USD 13M) profit in H1 2025, an 18% increase YoY. The results reflect successful monetization of its ecosystem (Shopee, Garena) while sustaining operational efficiency, proving that digital banks in Indonesia are not just scaling user numbers but also delivering profitability in an increasingly competitive neobank landscape. Read more
Rising scam losses ⚠️ Public losses from scams in Indonesia reached Rp 4.6T (~USD 280M) in 2025, raising concerns about consumer protection in the digital era. This highlights a dual challenge: scaling financial access while safeguarding trust. Expect tighter oversight and collaboration between fintech players and regulators in fraud prevention. Read more
Komdigi vs Roblox regulation 🎮 Indonesia’s Kominfo Digital (Komdigi) has given Roblox two compliance requirements to avoid a ban, signaling rising scrutiny on global platforms. The case illustrates Indonesia’s tightening stance on content regulation, user safety, and data governance—issues with far-reaching implications for international platforms seeking to operate in the country. Read more
What’s Exciting
Nusatrip IPO on Nasdaq ✈️ Travel platform Nusatrip successfully listed on Nasdaq, making it one of the few Indonesian startups to go public on an international exchange. The IPO signals strong confidence in post-pandemic travel-tech growth and opens the door for more Southeast Asian startups to pursue U.S. listings as a pathway to global visibility and capital access. Read more
