The term “unicorn” is not something new to our ears. However, for some people, they still don’t know the meaning behind the word “unicorn”. A unicorn is a term used for startups or fledgling companies that have a valuation of 1 billion U.S. dollars.
Aileen Lee, the founder of Cowboy Ventures, first used the term “unicorn.” The term came about when Cowboy Ventures compiled a dataset and categorized a list of companies with high valuations. They gathered a total of 39 companies with valuations exceeding $1 billion. This is where Lee categorized these companies as unicorns.
There are over 350 unicorn companies spread across the globe. Five of them come from Indonesia: Gojek, Tokopedia, Traveloka, Bukalapak, and the latest addition, OVO. Meanwhile, China holds the record for the highest number of unicorn companies in the world, with around 204 of them originating from the land of the Great Wall.
Following China is the United States, which has 203 unicorn companies. Even though the number might seem far less compared to the two aforementioned countries, Indonesia’s digital business and economy is on the right track.
Why is that so? It’s because Indonesia’s digital economic growth is the fastest in Southeast Asia, surpassing ASEAN countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand.
Also read: The Differences Between Unicorn, Decacorn, and Hectocorn
This is evident with the emergence of Indonesian startups that continue to appear and offer profitable innovations. However, the spotlight is certainly on the five Indonesian unicorn companies. All five unicorn startups in Indonesia are app-based and consistently innovative in providing the best services for their users.
It is not impossible that the number of unicorn startups in Indonesia will increase each year. The more unicorn companies that are born, the greater Indonesia’s opportunity to participate in global economic competition.
Here are the profiles of the five unicorn companies in Indonesia:
1. Gojek
Gojek became Indonesia’s first company to hold the unicorn title in 2016. Originally founded in 2010 by Nadiem Makarim, Gojek started as a motorcycle taxi booking service through a call center. Gradually, Gojek gained momentum by launching an app-based platform with three services in 2015: GoRide, GoSend, and GoMart.
One of Indonesia’s largest unicorns was able to develop into an app that millions of people now use on a daily basis thanks to its variety of innovations. Presently, Gojek offers around 20 services aimed at facilitating users’ needs. These encompass transportation (GoRide and GoCar), food delivery (GoFood), payments (GoBills and GoPay), shopping (GoShop, GoMart, and GoMall), parcel delivery (GoSend), and many more.
Considering its current valuation, which exceeds $10 billion, this transportation-based online company has moved beyond the realm of an Indonesian unicorn and entered the category of a decacorn. This substantial influx of funding has largely come from investors such as Mitsubishi Motors, Sequoia Capital India, Formation Group, Google, Warburg Pincus, and Tencent.
Also read: Series A Funding and the Impact for Startup Companies
2. Tokopedia
Tokopedia was the next company to earn the unicorn title after Gojek. William Tanuwijaya and Leontinus Alpha Edison founded this marketplace-based e-commerce platform in 2009.
As of last October, Tokopedia had achieved a valuation of $7 billion in US Dollars, equivalent to around Rp99 trillion. This means that Tokopedia only needs an additional valuation of $3 billion to catch up and become a decacorn, following in the footsteps of Gojek. This is certainly not an impossible feat given the accomplishments Tokopedia has attained up to this point.
Also read: Social Commerce vs. E-Commerce, What Are the Differences?
3. Traveloka
In addition to Gojek and Tokopedia, Traveloka is also one of the companies holding unicorn status in Indonesia. Derianto Kusuma, Ferry Unardi, and Albert Zhang founded Traveloka, which first debuted in 2012. Initially, the company with the bird logo focused on comparing flight ticket prices from various websites.
However, as time went on, Traveloka transformed into an online travel application that provides a platform for booking various types of tickets. This includes flight tickets, train tickets, hotel bookings, and much more.
It wasn’t until 2017 that Traveloka earned the unicorn label, following in the footsteps of Gojek and Tokopedia. By mid-2019, Traveloka’s valuation had reached $4 billion in US Dollars, equivalent to approximately Rp56 trillion. Some of the major investors contributing significant funds to Traveloka include East Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and Expedia Inc.
Also read: Crisis Management Plan, Is It Important for Startups?
4. Bukalapak
Achmad Zaky founded Bukalapak in 2012, which shares a similar idea with Tokopedia. This young graduate from ITB (Institut Teknologi Bandung) successfully established Bukalapak as an e-commerce platform with a focus on empowering small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Bukalapak officially gained unicorn status in 2017 after receiving a funding injection of $1 billion.
Moreover, not long ago, Bukalapak received a fresh investment from the South Korean company Shinhan GIB. Currently, Bukalapak’s valuation is estimated to have exceeded $2.5 billion, or around Rp35 billion.
Also read: Fintech Investment: Definition, Tips, and Risks
5. OVO
The fifth Indonesian unicorn startup is OVO, which achieved unicorn status in March 2019. Founded in 2017 and part of the Lippo Group, OVO managed to attain a valuation of over $1 billion in just two years.
But the story doesn’t end there. By October 2019, OVO’s valuation had risen to $2.9 billion, equivalent to around Rp41 trillion. This is truly an extraordinary achievement for a relatively new startup.
