Today GO-JEK has finalized the acquisitions of not one, not two, but three fintech startups. They are Midtrans, Kartuku, and Mapan (PT Ruma) with no amount disclosed. Post acquisition, the three companies will be consolidated independently under GO-JEK Group. Each company’s CEO to resume on their current position, but will also hold senior management position within GO-JEK Group. In the big picture, this move will allow GO-JEK to provide inclusive payment ecosystem for financial institutions, enterprise, SMEs, and also banked and unbanked customers.
Rumor about these stories has been around for at least past three months. Previously I argued that the acquisition for Midtrans and Kartuku will help GO-PAY, GO-JEK’s payment system, to have strong support from both online and offline payment gateway. The addition of Mapan, previously also known as Ruma, will enable GO-JEK, in its ideal vision, to push financial inclusion to a larger group of society in Indonesia.
Altogether, those companies have processed more than 67,5 trillion Rupiah (around $5 billion) of financial transaction annually, through credit card, debit card, and digital wallet.
“We are now taking GO-JEK to the next stage. Through the acquisitions announced today, we will be working hand in hand with three likeminded companies who share our vision and ethos. This marks a significant development in our position at the heart of Indonesia’s vibrant fintech industry,” GO-JEK Group’s Founder and CEO Nadiem Makarim said in a statement.
He continued, “We are very excited to welcome Kartuku, Midtrans, and Mapan into the GO-JEK family. We have collaborated with them and followed their progress for a number of years and are looking forward to working together on a shared mission to stimulate economic growth and improve lives through increased financial inclusion in Indonesia. This is in line with the Indonesian government’s aspiration for the country to become the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia by 2020.”
Mapan’s CEO Aldi Haryopratomo will be taking new role inside GO-JEK Group to lead GO-PAY, Midtrans’ CEO Ryu Suliawan will lead Group’s merchant platform, and Kartuku’s CEO Thomas Husted will also be Group’ new CFO.
Financial inclusion as the driving force
Payment system plays vital point for digital companies nowadays to acquire new customer, given credit card ownership in Indonesia is around less than 4% if compared to total population. While GO-PAY is not the only player in this segment, it’s one of the most popular payment method among digital customers due to ease of cashless transaction for transportation, food delivery, package delivery, and some other segments under GO-JEK’s management.
GO-JEK Group’s President Andre Soelistyo said, “2018 will be the year that GO-PAY moves beyond the GO-JEK ecosystem, providing convenient, secure and reliable payments both offline and online.”
“The acquisitions will immediately accelerate the acceptance and market leadership of GO-PAY in the offline space through Kartuku as well as the online space through Midtrans, while also increasing financial inclusion for the unbanked through Mapan. This approach to finance, implemented by leading home-grown Indonesian technology businesses within GO-JEK Group, will accelerate financial inclusion for millions of Indonesians and stimulate economic productivity throughout the country.”
“When the acquisitions are finalised, the management teams and employees will continue to operate as before, but will benefit from synergies as part of the Group,” he said.
Recently GO-JEK has just launched GO-BILLS, where customers can use GO-PAY to pay for bill payments, initially for electricity and BPJS Kesehatan. The latter is national health insurance system.
On August, GO-JEK has acquired Loket, an event management and analytics platform, that in turn now manage GO-TIX, GO-JEK’s own ticket and entertainment platform. It’s a strategical move that enable Loket to innovate aggressively in event segment.
GO-JEK revealed its platform now serves 15 million weekly active users with 900,000 drivers all over the country, more than 125,000 merchants, and over 100 million transactions processed through its platform per month.
It also plans to expand to the Philippines next year.
Independently pursuing respective visions
While now serve under GO-JEK Group, Suliawan and Haryopratomo confirm to DailySocial that each of the companies will continue to pursue their respective visions. Go-Pay, according to them, will allow to better serve their user base and accelerate each of their missions.
Suliawan also said that Prism, as well as the other products of Midtrans, will continue to serve the online commerce market. “We remained committed in helping accelerate online commerce in indonesia,” he said.
Haryopratomo added, Mapan will continue to be developed to help more Indonesian families to have opportunity to enjoy community based financial services. As part of GO-JEK Group, Mapan can accelerate financial inclusion to unbanked society, especially those who live in the remote area where GO-JEK is not widely available.
GO-PAY will play major role post acquisition, but other payment methods will still be supported by Mapan and Midtrans. It will help customers to enjoy variety of payments that are comfortable and enjoyable for them.
“As mobile first country, we believe digital payment will be widely adopted by society, both who live in the cities and rural area. It is part of GO-JEK Group’s effort, as a local company, to support and accelerate government program on financial inclusion and digital economy.”
