Gojek’s big bet on warungs, explained

More: TikTok gets banned in Pakistan and a Chinese app’s short-lived attempt to breach the Great Firewall [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} Tardiness is a huge no-no especially when it comes to ride-hailing services or food delivery. But here’s the one time when being fashionably late is okay: Gojek launching its new service for warungs in Indonesia. The Indonesian tech giant might be late compared to its fellow unicorns Bukalapak and Tokopedia and its archrival Grab — all of which have already been in the warung space for some time now — but Gojek’s timing could be a blessing in disguise. Today we look at: - Gojek’s [game plan]( to modernize warungs - Bukalapak founder making a bet on edtech - Other newsy highlights such as TikTok getting banned in Pakistan and the Chinese app that briefly breached the Great Firewall.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM SUMMARY  How Gojek wants to win the hearts of mom-and-pop stores The warung market is a hot, hot space in Indonesia: There are more than 3 million mom-and-pop shops in the country, with 2.5 million of them still underserved. Big players have already jumped in and Gojek is the newest player to [join the gold rush]( with its GoToko service. - Learn from the old: Gojek had the chance to learn from the mistakes of others - which could be why GoToko was launched in partnership with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant Unilever. Such partnerships are important in this space, as Mitra Bukalapak had [learned]( the hard way. - All the ins and outs: Gojek is also seasoned in same-day delivery, and for warung owners, receiving their inventory on time is crucial to business. Furthermore, GoToko offers both two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles that can handle the scale of the deliveries. - It has a huge backing: And let’s not forget about a particular Gojek investor: Facebook. The American tech giant is also a strategic partner of Jio Platforms and has deployed WhatsApp to help the Indian company bring kirana stores online. Could we expect such a partnership with Gojek next? Dive deeper: [Gojek’s game plan to modernize warungs](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP SPOTLIGHT Bukalapak founder makes a bet on edtech US$12.48 billion - that’s how much the learning management system (LMS) industry will grow from 2020 through 2024. Sitting right in the middle of that space is Indonesian edtech startup Codemi and it has raised an undisclosed [amount of seed funding]( from Init 6, a fund led by Bukalapak founder and former head chief Achmad Zaky, to grow it. - What is it? Codemi is a cloud-based learning management platform that trains level 1 employees to reach level 100. It helps employees upskill themselves through programs and resources including online testing and training, learning rewards, and a learner dashboard. - Achievements: The company currently has 55,000 users from 12 different companies, including Frisian Flag, Manulife, Ranch Market, and OK Bank. - Future plans: With the new capital, Codemi plans to develop more learning products for its users, build a stronger security infrastructure, and provide their users with a better learning experience.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  QUICK BITES  1️⃣ Another blow to TikTok The popular Chinese short-video app has been [banned]( in yet another country: Pakistan. The country’s Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said it has received numerous complaints against “immoral and indecent” videos that have been uploaded on the app.  2️⃣ A brief opening at the “Great Firewall”? Last week, an app was [launched]( on China’s Android stores that allowed Chinese users to watch content on Western social media sites without using a VPN. Downloaded five million times, Tuber is the first product launched by a major Chinese tech firm to help internet users bypass the country’s Great Firewall. However, it reportedly stopped functioning on Saturday and even appears to have been [removed]( from the Huawei app store.  3️⃣ Pooling money for Ant’s IPO Five newly launched Chinese funds have [raised US$8.93 billion]( with an aim to buy IPO shares from Ant Group’s upcoming mega stock listing. More than 10 million retail investors have joined in, with the funds reportedly selling out within days of the launch.  4️⃣ The next Chinese firm to go public Chinese ride-hailing company Dida Chuxing (not to be confused with Didi Chuxing) [has filed]( for an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The report cited that Dida captured 66.5% of China’s carpooling market in 2019 and was profitable that year. Similarly, its Softbank-backed rival Didi Chuxing is also said to be preparing for its IPO in Hong Kong.  5️⃣ Early PropertyGuru backers cut stakes Indonesia's media conglomerate Emtek Group [has ceased]( being an investor in the Singapore-based proptech startup. Some of PropertyGuru’s previous investors, such as Kreatif Media Karya (KMK), Square Peg Capital, Vulpes Testudo Fund, and individual backers, have also divested their stakes.  6️⃣ Flipkart’s Myntra gets money for its sale day The Indian fashion retailer has received [US$103 million]( from its Singapore-based parent entity FK Myntra Holdings ahead of its seven-day-long festive sale that begins on October 16. FK Myntra Holdings and Singapore-based QuickRoutes International bought over 1 million shares and 97,058 shares in the company respectively.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  FOR OUR COMMUNITY Why a Chinese Tesla rival failed to start its multibillion-dollar engine The battle in China’s electric vehicle (EV) sector is fierce: There are more than 400 competitors, including the US-based EV giant Tesla. Chinese EV makers Nio, Li Auto, and Xpeng Motors have also raised billions of dollars by going public. Nanjing-based Byton is another hopeful EV maker that looked to be hot on the trail of its peers. It had bagged over US$500 million in series B funding and opened R&D centers across Europe, North America, and China. In August last year, Byton announced that its US$500 million series C was “almost in place” from investors, which included China’s oldest state-owned automaker First Auto Works and state-owned capital funds. This development would have valued the firm at US$4 billion. But then it all went cold. We unlocked [this premium article]( in full for you to read this week.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING - Day 1 in the Cloud: Getting Started with AWS on Thursday, October 15 How important is having a solid technology infrastructure to scale your startup? Hear from startups who have been there, done that. [RSVP today!]( - Tech in Asia Virtual Conference from October 19 to 22. Our biggest annual event has everything you need to prepare for Southeast Asia’s golden age: Expert panel discussions with founders, decision-makers, and investors, startup-investor speed dating, and networking sessions to connect with those who matter. [RSVP here]( or if you’re already a Core or Live subscriber, you can [join the event]( for free. - Meet the Fintech Firms Shaping the Future of Finance on Wednesday, October 28 The future of finance seems to be in the hands of the fintech innovators, though this lead wasn’t exactly handed to them. Hear from the chief technology officers defining this future as we explore fintech trends over the next 12 to 18 months and the infrastructure required to make them a reality. [RSVP now.]( - CTO Forum - Smart Growth: Best Practices for Rapid-Scaling on Thursday, October 29 Engineering leaders, you’re in luck! We’ve brought in engineering leaders from Sequoia Capital India, TradeGecko, and Amazon Web Services to share their best practices in scaling their engineering teams. You can [sign up to attend here](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING - [SEO Content Writer]( at Niagahoster (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) - [Strategic Finance Associate]( at Glints (Singapore, Singapore) - [Content Marketing Manager]( at iPaymy (Hong Kong, Hong Kong)  --------------------------------------------------------------- Don’t leave your co-workers behind! Share this with them so that they can keep up with what’s going on in the region’s tech scene. Feel free to [give us feedback]( if our newsletter today got you feeling smarter (or if it didn’t). Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good coffee. Today’s edition is written by Betty Chum, with contributions from Putra Muskita and Miguel Cordon. 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