Jakarta-based technology company Tokopedia is targeting to get its newly launched Islamic marketplace Tokopedia Salam to generate at least ten percent of its total transactions, according to its chief executive officer Garri Juanda. The tech unicorn, which was founded in 2009 by William Tanuwijaya and Leontinus Alpha Edison and is the most visited e-commerce site in Indonesia, handled approximately US$5 billion in transactions for 2018 and calculates that around ten percent of the transactions came from Islamic, halal and products that are Muslim-friendly.
Tokopedia is one of Indonesia’s first tech unicorns, and is thought to be valued at close to US$7 billion as of November 2018. The tech giant successfully closed a Series G funding round last year, which saw the participation of Softbank Vision Fund and China’s Alibaba Group.
Sensing an opportunity to fulfill demand for an Islamic-friendly market platform as well as to democratize the Shariah economy through technology, Tokopedia Salam was established in early November in part as a response to fulfill the needs and demands of users and consumers. Internal research conducted by the tech giant discovered that at least four-fifths of its users wanted to buy halal-certified food and beverage products, while at least eighty-five percent of them did shopping in the Muslim fashion-friendly space. As a result of launching Tokopedia Salam, which caters specifically to the needs of its Muslim users, the tech unicorn is now aiming to triple this year’s overall transactions to approximately 220 trillion Indonesian rupiah, or approximately US$15.7 billion. Garri Juanda expects the growth of the new marketplace platform, Tokopedia Salam, next year to be at least three hundred percent.
The Islamic platform currently offers more than 20 million products that are friendly to Muslims , including halal-certified products, on its marketplace, with at least 700,000 participating sellers. The selection of products is vast and varied, covering categories as diverse as umrah packages, fashion, food, beverages, health and wellness, electronics, toys, household appliances.
Tokopedia Salam is more than just an e-commerce marketplace for buying and selling products as well. The tech unicorn is collaborating with various social institutions, such as Dompet Dhuafa, NU Care-LAZISNU, Rumah Yatim and the National Zakat Board, or BAZNAS, to allow its users to donate to charitable causes online, as well as for other notable Islamic charitable and social purposes. Users and interested investors are also able to participate in Reksa Dana Syariah, or Islamic mutual funds, and Tokopedia Emas through its Tokopedia Salam platform as well. Additionally, the marketplace offers payment methods that are Shariah-compliant, including from banking institutions such as BRI Syariah, Mandiri Syariah and Bank Muamalat.
Garri hopes that the launch of the marketplace will help people from different social and economic standings to find a wide selection of products that cater to Muslims’ needs and wants, while at the same time support technology’s role in opening and developing Indonesia’s Shariah economy.
The Indonesian tech unicorn, which described its mission as democratizing commerce through technology, will continue to look for more ways to provide better services and products for its users and consumers. Tokopedia Salam is an innovative addition that will become an attractive marketplace for Muslim users, while helping the company to generate even more transactions.
