Indonesian Laku6 to raise US$3 million in series A for trading used phones

Laku6, a used phone ecommerce site based in Indonesia is in discussions to raise up to US$3 million with several venture capital firms.

The company said the funding round will likely be completed by the beginning of Q4 this year, following Laku6’s seed funding which has secured more than US$1.8 million led by Golden Gate Ventures (GGV).

Besides, Laku6 is also backed by investors Convergence Ventures, SkyStar Capital, Rocket Internet, and Andy Zain, the managing director of local VC firm Mountain Kejora.

Alvin Yap, the Founder of Laku6 said they are also looking at a new offering with a financial service company which will help them triple their revenue by the end of the year.

With the partnership in place, users will be able to buy a phone with an installment plan and without using a credit card. Upon paying six installments, users then can choose to trade the phone for half the price and get an upgraded phone.

Launched in July 2015, Laku6 sells certified used phones online in Indonesia, a market that lacks benchmark on condition and pricing.

It claims to be one of the largest used phone retailers in Indonesia and Thailand, offering 40 percent lower price on phones with a 90-day warranty. The company also said it has sold more than 20,000 units to date and expects to sell another 10,000 units by the end of the year.

Besides, it was also reported that Chinese giant JD.com was eyeing a business partnership with Laku6 as the company shows growing interest in the segment and the used phone startup.

Outside of China and India, Indonesia is the hottest e-commerce market in Asia; it is expected to grow from US$8 billion in 2016 to US$65 billion by 2020. The market has been abuzz with deal activity in the last few months.