Spurring MSMEs’ Digitalization, Gojek Acquire Moka Digital Cashier

Gojek announced the acquisition of a Point of Sale (POS) startup cashier system, Moka. This startup continues to be an independent entity integrated with the Gojek merchant ecosystem. However, the Indonesian decacorn did not mention the value of the acquisition.

Previously, Bloomberg had reported that the value of this corporate action reached US$ 130 million or around Rp2.02 trillion. The corporate action makes Gojek and Moka provide integrated solutions for business partners (merchants).

This solution consists of payment, food delivery, and a Point of Sale (POS) system so that it supports the growth and digitization of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia.

Co-CEO Gojek Andre Soelistyo said the company could work with Moka to accelerate the digitalization of MSMEs.

“We are taking one step further to work with the Moka team to provide solutions from upstream to downstream that provide opportunities for more business migration to online,” he was quoted as saying in a press release on Thursday (30/4).

Moreover, MSMEs are now affected by the corona pandemic. “As the impact of Covid-19 is increasingly felt, we see that online businesses have better resilience than offline which is highly dependent on the physical arrival of consumers,” Andre said.

This Cooperation Is Beneficial for Both Parties

At present, Moka is attracting 40 thousand businesspeople in 200 Indonesian cities. This startup provides solutions ranging from POS equipment, payment systems, bookkeeping to the procurement of raw materials, and business capital lending.

Meanwhile, Gojek, through the GoBiz service, also has more than 500 thousand merchant partners. As many as 96% of them are MSMEs. With the acquisition, services in the two companies can be integrated.

This corporate action will also accelerate the growth of the Moka business network by providing access to hundreds of millions of Gojek users throughout Indonesia.

Moka CEO and Co-Founder Haryanto Tanjo said, this integration will open the network access of business people to hundreds of millions of Gojek platform users. In addition, it will get transactions directly from services like GoFood.

“A variety of Gojek services that provide solutions for businesses will make it easier for partners to conduct business successfully, both online and offline,” Haryanto said. “This crucial strategy for small businesses remains in the midst of the current corona pandemic.”

Before Gojek Announces, KPPU Has Confirmed the Acquisition

The KPPU commissioner stated that he had received an acquisition report from Gojek since April 9th. Based on Government Regulation Number 57 of 2010 concerning Mergers and Acquisitions, any merger, consolidation of a business entity, or acquisition of shares of another company that results in asset value or sales value exceeding a certain amount must be notified in writing to KPPU.

This notification is no later than 30 working days from the effective date of the corporate action. Guntur said that the acquisition report was still being examined by KPUU. “It is still in the process of evaluation,” he said.

The acquisition value is reportedly reached US$ 120 million or equivalent to Rp 1.68 trillion. This news was reported by Bloomberg based on information from sources who know the process.

Gojek and Moka were said to have held discussions at the beginning of last year before the company’s founder, Nadiem Makarim served as Minister of Education and Culture. However, the two new startups were able to reach a fundamental agreement around the acquisition recently.

The acquisition was reported as part of Gojek’s efforts to become a leader in the digital payment industry. Gojek competes with Singapore-based Decacorn Grab in Southeast Asia.

Through this acquisition, the two companies can combine these services to further enable them to help more small businesses migrate to the online system and reduce the gap between the offline and online platforms.