Tokopedia to reportedly receive US$350m funding from Google and Temasek Holdings

Google and Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings have reportedly agreed to invest approximately US$350 million in Indonesian tech company Tokopedia, according to Bloomberg. According to its sources, the investment will be a major cash infusion that will aid in Tokopedia's post-COVID-19 expansion.

The report added that the two companies could sign an agreement for the funding soon. Although the amount invested falls short of the initial goal of between US$500 million to US$1 billion that Bloomberg reported in July, it said Tokopedia may still be looking for more investors. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Tokopedia for more information.

In a recent blog post, Tokopedia's vice president of corporate communications, Nuraini Razak, said the company saw an increase in purchase of products in the food and beverage, health, household, electronics, as well as mobile and tablet categories over the period of July to September 2020.

The blog post added that with the social restrictions in place, people are doing more activities at home, and that encouraged an increase in the household category which is more than twice the amount compared to the period before the pandemic. Shoe and slippers holders, air freshener and sleeping pillows are the most popular products, Tokopedia said.

The health category was also found to have experienced an increase of almost 2.5 times of purchases compared to the previous period. According to Tokopedia, masks and face shields are the most sought-after health products for the public. Similarly, work-from-home and schooling-from-home arrangements have triggered a significant increase in transactions in the categories of books, computers and laptops.

Earlier in June, Tokopedia partnered with GroupM to give clients more value when campaigns are activated on the former’s platform. As part of the partnership, GroupM’s clients are able to gain preferred access to new inventory, exclusive benefits on advertising and promotions, including Tokopedia's festive campaigns.

According to both parties, the aim of the partnership is to unlock the potential of eCommerce for clients. Tokopedia looked to empower GroupM and its agencies to leverage its marketing solutions and tools, such as TopAds, to drive business growth and improve the shopper experience. Through this partnership, GroupM and its agencies (Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Essence and m/SIX) also aim to offer clients a holistic eCommerce solution from strategy to performance marketing, off and on the platform. The Tokopedia partnership is managed by the GroupM Commerce Indonesia team.

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