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Indonesian Startup Rides Southeast Asia's Booming Office-sharing Market

Indonesian Startup Rides Southeast Asia's Booming Office-sharing Market
EV Hive’space in Tangerang near Jakarta © Tech in Asia

Indonesian coworking space provider GoWork announced on Oct. 10 that it has secured a Chinese investor to close its fundraising round.

The fresh investment comes as office sharing gains popularity in Southeast Asia's growing tech sector. International investors, including Japan's SoftBank Group, are becoming enthusiastic about the booming industry.

GoWork's series A investment totaling 13.8 million Singapore dollars ($10 million) announced on Oct. 10 was led by Chinese venture capital firm Gobi Partners and developer Indonesian Paradise Property. The Jakarta-based startup received a $2.5 million investment last year led by Ucommune, China's largest coworking company.

GoWork coworking and office space by Metaphor Interior Architecture, Jakarta – Indonesia. Image: Retaildesignblog.com
GoWork coworking and office space by Metaphor Interior Architecture, Jakarta – Indonesia. Image: Retaildesignblog.com

 

Other startups are drawing investor cash. EV Hive, a rival in Jakarta, received $20 million in June from investors including Japan's SoftBank Group.

Common Ground, a major Malaysian coworking space operator, completed series A financing of $20 million the same month. And late last year, Singapore's JustCo raised $12 million to expand its presence across Southeast Asia. 

GoWork offers shared workspace options ranging from a hot desk for about $8 per day to a private office at a monthly fee of $183 at offices across Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali.

EV Hive, Jakarta. Image: Marketing Interactive
EV Hive, Jakarta. Image: Marketing Interactive

 

The majority of its 600 corporate clients are established tech companies such as Southeast Asian ride-hailing leader Grab, as well as multinationals, CEO Vanessa Hendriadi said.

The new funding will be used to bolster operations, increasing coworking space from the current 10,000 sq. meters to nearly 25,000 by early 2019, the company said.

Players from outside the region are also moving in. American coworking leader WeWork last year acquired Singapore's Spacemob as part of its $500 million investment plan to grow in Southeast Asia. Amsterdam-based Spaces debuted in the region in February, with a new office in Bangkok.

Employees work at Mediatrac, a data analytics startup in Jakarta. Image: Reuters
Employees work at Mediatrac, a data analytics startup in Jakarta. Image: Reuters

 

Market watchers attribute the fast expansion to Southeast Asia's status as a hot spot for startups and digital nomads, thanks to the region's relatively low cost of living, tech-savvy young workforce and digital infrastructure.

Coworking sites could constitute roughly 15% of Southeast Asia's office space by 2030, up from 5% now, global property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle estimates.

Hendriadi thinks her company can snare a slice of this multibillion-dollar market. The 2-year-old startup claims to have achieved a nearly 100% occupancy rate at its 16 locations while turning profitable. In February, GoWork merged with local rival ReWork to strengthen its market position.

 

Source : Nikkei Asian Review

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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