Indonesian mPOS startup receives undisclosed investment

MPOS startup Moka is banking on growth in Indonesia’s retail industry and releasing a cloud-based mobile payments solution for merchants.

The startup announced this morning that it had received seed funding – the amount of which is still undisclosed – from Jakarta-based venture capital firm East Ventures.

Moka has created a cloud-based solution for ringing up transactions, accepting payments, and creating reports from an iPad. Founders Haryanto Tanjo and Grady Laksomo are committed to making mPOS capabilities accessible to Indonesia’s growing middle class.

“Traditional POS systems are expensive, difficult to use, and involve costly maintenance,” explains 25-year-old CEO Haryanto Tanjo. “With Moka, all they have to do is download the app on their iPad, sign up, and start selling.”

The mPOS system allows business owners to access real time sales data while on the go, or from home.

CTO Grady Laksmono says, “With our cloud technology, business owners can manage multiple stores and gain critical insights such as the best-selling items at different locations, or items that are running low on inventory.”

The biggest challenge the startup faces is finding the right market for its technology. Tanjo believes that startups often have a tendency to cater to a broader market than necessary, which is a recipe for failure. His solution is to choose a smaller customer base and focus on building the best mPOS system for that specific market.

Moka monetizes via its own monthly subscription fees, offering three plans depending on the number of items the users choose. Having a merchant discount arrangement with local banks allows Moka to take a cut of each sale if it acquires the merchant on behalf of a partnering bank.

Indonesia’s retail industry grew by nearly 19 per cent between July 2014 and 2014, seeing more growth than in any other country in Southeast Asia.

 “It will get bigger as 70 million additional middle-class and affluent consumers are coming [to Indonesia] between now and 2020,” Tanjo says. “To catch up with business growth, retail stores must run their operations efficiently and be able to access their information in real-time.”

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