Eratani gets $6.2m, looks to rebuild VCs’ trust in Indonesia

Indonesian agritech startup Eratani has raised US$6.2 million in a series A funding round led by Clay Capital and joined by TNB Aura, SBI Ven Capital, AgFunder, Genting Ventures, and IIX.

The fundraise took place as the sector’s funding dropped to US$33.2 million in 2024 from US$135.6 million the previous year, according to Tech in Asia data.

“We work very transparently with all of our investors, so this becomes the key [principle] that we’re truly committed to,” CEO Andrew Soeherman told Tech in Asia.

Through this fundraise, Eratani seeks to reestablish global investors’ trust in the Indonesian startup ecosystem following the recent string of financial scandals.

This development comes two days after Bloomberg published a report featuring its interview with Gibran Huzaifah, ex-CEO of eFishery, who denied that he had taken the missing company funds. Huzaifah claimed that he had faked the aquatech firm’s financial figures to be shared with investors because it had only three months of runway.

“We want to use this momentum to slightly neutralize [the perception] that not all startups, not all founders are doing what previous companies in Indonesia were doing. And hopefully, this also [builds] deeper trust with other investors,” CFO Bambang Cahyo Susilo told Tech in Asia.

Other green shoots are emerging: Fore Coffee, backed by East Ventures, had a strong debut in its IPO, giving rise to hope that the worst is over for the Indonesian startup scene.

As for Eratani, it will use the funds to accelerate tech adoption across the four provinces it covers: West Java, Central Java, East Java, and South Sulawesi.

Susilo added that the company will also use the capital to strengthen its tech infrastructure, which includes satellites, drones, agriculture data centers, and IoT devices. He also said that the company will “deepen” its presence in the aforementioned four provinces, which are among the country’s largest rice producers.

Founded in 2021, Eratani has collaborated with over 34,000 farmers, which it plans to increase to over 283,000 by 2029. It is helmed by Soeherman and Susilo, both of whom were former Gojek employees.

Eratani offers financing access to unbanked rice farmers using various requirements, including soil and pest condition, irrigation system, and land ownership.

The company previously secured US$5.8 million in seed funding across two fundraises, as well as another US$1.6 million in a pre-seed round.

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Written by: Randy Mulyanto

17 April 2025