How Majoo made an e-commerce stack for Indonesia’s MSMEs
Published on September 9, 2022
In 2021, Indonesia reportedly had 202 million internet users who contributed US$70 billion to the country’s digital economy. Indonesia’s MSMEs account for a significant contribution to the nation’s economy overall.
The country is also seeing clear signs that its small businesses are undergoing their own digital transformation en masse. Much of the impetus is coming from consumers’ evolving behavior and demands.
It is important to understand that digitization does not mean adopting one tool or a single solution for automating one business process. It implies a range of holistic tech tools that help bring the entire business to a new level of productivity. This may include customer care, inventory management, sales, internal operations, payroll, and more.
This is where startups like Majoo are delivering real impact. The startup is helping Indonesia’s millions of MSMEs by providing a full suite of digital tools, offering an end-to-end platform that runs everything from the point of sales to backend management, payroll, and beyond.
Since its launch, Majoo has acquired over 25,000 active merchants while maintaining strong retention. The platform saw 250% growth during the pandemic, demonstrating its stickiness and market fit in Indonesia. The startup has processed over 100 million transactions worth US$ 600 million for MSMEs in more than 600 cities. These enterprises include a diverse range of businesses from micro F&B to laundromats, convenience stores, and others.
One of the main reasons behind Majoo’s success is constant innovation. It recently launched what it refers to as “Shopify for offline stores.” The new feature helps MSMEs augment their revenues by allowing merchants to set up online shops and connect to existing marketplaces.
On a recent episode of the Indonesia Digital Deconstructed hosted by Adrian Li of AC Ventures, Majoo founder and CEO Adi Wahyu Rahadi shared the goods.
Constant innovation for Indonesia’s MSMEs
The transcript below has been condensed and edited for focus and clarity.
Adrian: Majoo developed an e-commerce stack this year, which is basically the “Shopify for offline stores.” Tell us a bit more about this product.
Adi: The pandemic pushed even traditional warungs to sell online but most MSMEs do not understand complex tech platforms. Based on ground research and our conversations with hundreds of warung owners, we realized there was a need for something easily accessible on mobile. There is also a need for multiple sales avenues across online channels and social media. This is what we’ve tapped into with our latest e-commerce product.
Adrian: Can you share more on how it enables offline merchants?
Adi: We are helping offline merchants sell via multiple online channels. We are also integrating them with e-marketplaces such as Tokopedia, Shopee, and Bukalapak. With this integration, they are able to serve customers on their unique e-store but also customers coming through other online marketplaces. Further, merchants do not need to maintain separate inventories for multiple marketplaces. We enable them to centralize and manage inventory easily and efficiently.
Adrian: There’s been a massive shift toward digital payments post-pandemic in Indonesia. How does your product help merchants with this?
Adi: Many of our customers are MSMEs that traditionally have only accepted cash payments. So, to help them sell online seamlessly, we work with a host of e-wallet providers like GoPay, ShopeePay, and others. That said, to keep it all simple, our users don’t actually have to get onboarded with all of these e-wallets. Instead, with Majoo, all e-payments can be collected by arming merchants with a single QR code to show their customers.
Enjoy the full episode on Spotify, Google, and Apple.
