Indonesia's ride-hailing company Gojek announced Wednesday it has secured a significant amount of funding from Facebook and PayPal, including its existing investors, Tencent and Google.
Gojec said this latest investment is part of the company's ongoing Series F Round and brings the total amount of money it has raised to more than $3 billion. The company was reported to have taken $1.2 billion in fresh capital in March, after it secured around $1 billion in the initial close of its Series F Round in 2019.
The two US companies' investment will help ramp up the Indonesian startup's online payment business that drives the American firms into a fast-expanding Asian internet landscape.
It is the second overseas investment the social media giant has initiated during the last six weeks with the aim of generating more local businesses on the internet, after it shelled out around $5.7 billion for 10 percent of Reliance Jio, the digital subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, which is owned by tycoon Mukesh Ambani.
Facebook is looking to establish a commerce and payments business around WhatsApp, in addition to allowing companies to use its messaging platform to link with consumers.
According to Goject co-chief executive officer Andre Soelistyo, in a report by Saheli Roy Choudhury of CNBC, the partnership gives them the capability to achieve something that is truly distinct as they "aim to help more businesses to digitize and ensure that many millions more consumers enjoy the benefits that the digital economy can bring."
Gojek pointed out that the partnership with PayPal would allow users of the company's digital wallet, GoPay, to gain access in the US firm's network of over 25 million merchants around the globe.
WhatsApp chief operating officer Matt Idema disclosed that the company will team up with GoJek to bring millions of small businesses and the clients they cater to into the biggest digital marketplace in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia is one of the largest markets in Asia for the Mark Zuckerberg-led social media empire. In April this year, Reuters reported that Facebook was in discussion with local fintech startups to unveil a mobile payments platform in the country.
Facebook said on Wednesday that the venture will support the company and Gojek's shared ambition of boosting businesses and enhancing the financial inclusion across the country.
Indonesia's online sector is the biggest and fastest-growing in Southeast Asia, according to Singapore state investor Temasek and consulting firm Bain & Company. The archipelago is on course to breach the $130 billion mark in four years and is poised to benefit from the growing adoption of digital payments, the report divulged. Southeast Asia's overall internet market is seen to hit $300 billion by 2025.
