Ahmad Zaky, the co-founder and previous CEO of Bukalapak, and his co-founder and former CTO Nugroho Herucahyono, also known as Xinuc, have teamed up to launch a VC fund called Init 6, focusing on Indonesian early-stage startups that help build the life after the COVID-19 crisis, Zaky announced on Tuesday.
Init 6 has already made its first investment in the edtech startup Eduka System, built by students of Institut Teknologi Bandung, a prestigious tech university in West Java. Both Zaky and Xinuc attended the university in the early 2000s, along with the other Bukalapak co-founder Fajrin Rasyid. Eduka Systems helps students practicing their problem-solving skills in several different subjects and lessons. The platform has around 180,000 monthly active users and so far counted more than 800,000 participants.
“The first time we met Eduka’s founders, we were impressed with their achievement. They built it from nothing, with no capital,” Zaky said in an official statement. “They remind us of ourselves 10 years ago. Even better, they are still going to class in Institut Teknologi Bandung up until now. I hope they will graduate soon this year and scale Eduka even faster. Education is a huge space and we believe Eduka can make better impacts on top of Indonesia’s education system.”
Zaky considers Init 6 to be an industry-agnostic firm. It plans to invest in high-quality tech startups in sectors that have great demand and big market size. “As tech founders, we believe that technology can bring about better change, especially with this current pandemic that is disrupting [many sectors],” Zaky told KrASIA.
Zaky and Xinuc started Bukalapak in 2010, growing it into a unicorn in 2017. Xinuc just left the firm in March, while Zaky announced his resignation last December, saying that he wanted to mentor next generation founders and focus on non-profit activity. Zaky is succeeded by financier Rachmat Kaimuddin who now serves as Bukalapak’s CEO. The change in management comes as Bukalapak is preparing for its second decade in business, with a focus on sustainable e-commerce, according to the company.