Plugo, an e-commerce support platform for D2C brands in Southeast Asia, picks up $9M Series A

Plugo has raised $9 million in a funding round. In addition to making a website, setting up a payment system, and managing marketing for direct-to-consumer brands, the company offers a complete spectrum of e-commerce support services. Plugo allows D2C merchants to concentrate on their products and support other processes.

The Series A round was led by Altos. When asked about its valuation, the company didn't reveal it.

Plugo will use the proceeds to beef up its R&D team and hire more engineers, according to the company's co-founder and CEO.

Plugo was formed with five founding members. About 200 D2C brands have begun using Plugo in Indonesia. In the first quarter of next year, the Singapore-based startup plans to open an office in Indonesia.

The company wants to expand to other Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, after focusing on the Indonesian market for a year. A payment outlet such as Nicepay Indonesia is one of the partnerships it has with.

The end-to-end management system for D2C brands and merchants in Indonesia was inspired by the fact that Indonesia's D2C market is less than 1% of the total e- commerce in the country.

Indonesia's D2C market is expected to have a vast potential to grow, with the fourth- largest population size, rising young population and rapid penetration of smartphone users in the country.

Local businesses in Indonesia have accelerated their adoption of digital technology due to innovation in the e- commerce environment. Over the last decade, business-to-consumer (B2C) platforms have dominated the e- commerce market in Indonesia.

The startup wants to challenge the players of e- commerce. There is still a lot of room for growth in the D2C business, which is why I think we have enormous potential. For example, we can give tailored services to small merchants in the region and give them the power to sell online.

The timing is perfect for the birth of Plugo as the e- commerce landscape is experiencing turbulence that will nurture positive disruption, according to Charles Rim, founding and general partner at Access.

TokoTalk operator CodeBrick was bought by Singapore's e- commerce Sea in 2021, while J2MSoft was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2008. Sea has shut down the TokoTalk service since October in an effort to reduce costs.

Moon-Suk Oh, partner at Altos, said thatPlugo's mission was in line with their own. Plugo will transform the future of e- commerce in Indonesia.