Share This Article
Traveloka received $200 million in funding
Indonesian company Traveloka has received funding from BlackRock and Allianz corporations. The amount of investment was $300 million and exceeded expectations during the preliminary assessment of the round. Experts had planned to receive $200 million. The company’s investors also include GIC Pte and Expedia. The startup’s valuation is $3 billion.
Traveloka operates in the Southeast Asia region and sells tickets and travel reservations. The startup plans to use the proceeds to grow its business and recover from the pandemic that has negatively impacted the travel sector. Among the plans, Traveloka also has an IPO on the U.S. stock exchange or the market in Indonesia. It should be noted that the company wanted to hold a public offering back in 2019, but then the slowdown in Indonesia’s economy forced it to postpone the procedure.
The pandemic caused enormous damage to the travel industry in Southeast Asia. At that time, the outbreak of COVID-19 virtually paralyzed the entire travel industry. Many countries in the region, including Indonesia, receive a large part of their budgets from tourism, and during the pandemic, revenues dropped significantly. Despite the crisis, technology startup Traveloka decided to expand its position in the local market just during the quarantine. The company offered a wide range of financial services, partnering with several major banks in Indonesia
Now the situation with the disease is regulated and stable, thanks to which the recovery of the tourism sector in the region has begun. And travelers are trying to catch up and are actively visiting different parts of the world. For example, Thailand, where tourism accounts for 12% of the total GDP, is seeing a large influx of visitors. As soon as all restrictions related to the pandemic were removed last July, demand for holidays in the country began to grow rapidly.
Traveloka was founded in 2012, and its platform offers services for purchasing airline tickets and booking hotels. In addition, the site offers merchandise and event tickets, restaurant coupons, and car rentals. Life insurance for travelers is also available. The startup is present in 6 countries in the region and Australia but intends to enter new markets in the near future. In 2019, Traveloka attracted an investment of $420 million, the organizer of the round was a national fund GIC from Singapore. As a result of the procedure, the startup became a unicorn.
The pandemic was a difficult period for the company, it had to lay off 100 people working in Indonesia. In addition, the business incurred losses, as many travelers asked for refunds for planned trips.