The sum will be the biggest startup investment in Indonesia to date, as global companies prepare for a rapid jump in internet users in the country.
By 2015, tech consultancy Redwing forecasts the number of internet users in Indonesia will jump from 75 million to 125 million.
Indonesia is set to experience an e-commerce boom as a result, and Facebook, Twitter and Uber are all reportedly opening offices in Jakarta.
SoftBank’s investment with Sequoia Capital represents one of the first significant plays made by international companies in the Indonesian tech segment and market watchers predict that annual online sales could rise significantly from $1 billion on the platfrom.
“Indonesia’s e-commerce market is going to take off,” said Shailendra Singh, MD for Sequoia in Bangalore. “We’re seeing positive trends in internet and mobile usage and we were energised by Tokopedia’s vision for connecting buyers and sellers.”
Sequoia is renowned as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, and was an early investor in Apple, Google and WhatsApp.
