Fresh off from an industry-defying $1.2 Billion fundraise, Indonesia’s most valuable startup Gojek has reportedly acquired Jakarta-based mobile point-of-sale startup called Moka for about $130 million, said Bloomberg in a report citing people familiar with the matter. Rumors about the negotiations have been going on for about a year now, with the deal finally inked about a month back according to the sources.
The acquisition comes at a strategic time, given the outbreak of coronavirus is pushing people towards a cashless economy. The deal will further consolidate Gojek’s position in the Indonesian digital payment industry.
Moka currently operates in around 100 cities across Indonesia, providing POS and payment services to more than 35,000 restaurants, coffee shops, and retail outlets. Users can pay using their credit/debit cards, and even mobile wallets like WeChat Pay and GoPay using the Moka app.
Valued at $10 billion, Gojek is Indonesia’s largest ride-hailing and food delivery service. The startup recently raised $1.2 billion in funding for expansion, much against the general sentiment of a crumbling startup ecosystem.
The startup hasn’t gone entirely unscathed though, with restrictions affecting the order volume and in turn the livelihood of the delivery agents. To help the employees adversely affected by the pandemic, Gojek’s co-chief executive officers and senior management decided to donate 25% of their salaries over the next 12 months into a fund designed to support its drivers and merchants during the pandemic.
“Regardless whether it’s good times or bad times, you have to build a really solid foundation of the business,” Aldi Haryopratomo, CEO of Gojek’s e-payment unit GoPay, said in a Bloomberg TV interview this month. “We are very lucky to have secured the funding as a group and we are in a position to execute it.”
