Asked why eFishery needs so much funding despite being profitable, Indonesia’s newly minted unicorn said it requires capital for future expansions, covering cash delays, and boosting export capacity and capability.
“In the near future, we also have the potential for [exporting] fish and for that, we need to invest in capacity and capability to enable the export business,” Dhianendra Laksmana, chief financial officer at eFishery, said at a fireside chat at DealStreetAsia’s Asia PE-VC Summit 2023 last week.
He explained that aquaculture players in Indonesia often have to disburse cash early to secure harvests but receive payments later, which results in cash delay.
The firm recently announced a $200-million Series D funding round led by Abu Dhabi-based global fund manager 42XFund, a sizeable external support for a company claiming to be profitable.
Laksmana said eFishery has started exporting shrimp to the US, the world’s biggest shrimp market, and set up a legal entity there. It will soon begin exports to China, he added.
eFishery also plans to scale up its downstream business domestically for fish products, which needs funding to increase capacity, value chain, and last mile capacity, among others.
The company seeks to build an inclusive and sustainable aquaculture ecosystem, staying the course with major plans lined up such as regional expansions, Laksmana said.
It has started its regional expansion with India this year, he said, adding that the company will decide on expanding its operations further to either China, the Philippines, or Vietnam depending on its experience in India.
“We piloted in India; we started commercial production there and have a couple of people on the ground right now. We started selling and making a profit,” Laksmana said.
“All of this is still basically in operational pilot mode until the end of the year. And, if successful, next year, we’re going to scale it up further,” he said.
eFishery is currently working with about 70,000 fish and shrimp farmers and about 300,000 ponds across the archipelago, improving their livelihood not only by providing technology to improve their harvest but also by absorbing their harvest at a competitive price.
Laksmana cited the company’s impact report last year, showing that among 500-600 farmers interviewed, 30% had experienced an improvement in income after working with eFishery.
“It’s not just a jargon. In our operations, when we review our business and evaluate a new business opportunity, we will link it back to this farmer-first value. Is it going to help them? Is it going to make them worse off? How are we going to do that? That’s how we stay connected with farmers,” Laksmana said.
