Ula, a B2B e-commerce that operates in Indonesia, has secured USD 87 million in a Series B funding round led by Prosus Ventures, Tencent, and B Capital, the company said on Monday. Bezos Expeditions, an investment firm owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, participated in this funding round, which was the first time for Bezos Expeditions to write a check for a Southeast Asian company.
Other investors that took part include Northstar, AC Ventures, Citius, Lightspeed India, Sequoia Capital India, Quona Capital, and Alter Global. This Series B investment took place nine months after Ula raised USD 20 million in January.
Launched in 2020, Ula operates a wholesale e-commerce marketplace for small and micro retailers. It helps kiosk owners digitize their supply chain and inventory management. Ula is active in Indonesia’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities, where logistics infrastructure is much more challenging than in metro areas.
“Our core mission to support traditional retailers is especially relevant during the pandemic. We are strengthening our presence, selection, and services in rural areas and hard-to-reach neighborhoods, helping local retailers accelerate the recovery of their businesses,” said co-founder and chief commercial officer Derry Sakti in an official statement. “With Ula, they no longer have to worry about sourcing, product availability, or even payments, which frees up their time to focus on other important things.”
Ula will use the fresh capital for its expansion across Indonesia. It will also explore the possibility of establishing an international expansion in Southeast Asia. The company will add new product categories, expand its “buy now, pay later” offering, and strengthen its supply chain and logistics infrastructure.
In a previous interview with KrASIA, Ula CEO Nipun Mehra said that kiosk partners are able to improve their income by around 15% if they frequently use Ula’s app. The platform offers 6,000 products and serves over 70,000 traditional retailers.
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