Seven-digit funding has been provided by Vietnam’s NextTech Group of Technopreneurs and Malaysia’s Haspro Holdings for WeShop.co.id.
Both groups have also invested an undisclosed amount for the parent firm WeShop Global Group to unlock cross-border eCommerce opportunities. The investors will have board seats at WeShop Global, while a senior executive from NextTech will act as chairman of the company.
“This fund will be used to promote the benefit of worldwide shopping to online consumers and to strengthen the operation and customer service for WeShop Indonesia and other markets across Southeast Asia,” says a joint release.
As a result, WeShop.co.id has become the first cross-border eCommerce platform launched in Indonesia.
“Cross-border shopping is a booming trend in eCommerce, growing two times faster than the total B2C market and five times faster than global cross-border trade until 2020 thanks to its nature of bridging the merchandising availability between countries,” says WeShop Global founder/CEO Emme Dao.
“However, logistics costs, complicated payment methods and risk concern are among the barriers for online consumers.”
The portal enables Indonesian shoppers to buy more than 200 million genuine products from the US and famous brands that are often unavailable or more costly locally. Payment can be made through any local payment method before delivery, while taxes and other fees are paid separately before delivery. The platform offers prices up to 70 per cent cheaper than local stores.
Consumers can order products not available on the portal by submitting the web address of the desired goods to WeShop platform for on-behalf selling and shipping service, thanks to the company’s logistics network across six Southeast Asian markets and the US.
“As regional serial investors into disruptive technology companies, together we see the potential
for WeShop to transform the way people import and export through eCommerce – somehow similar to what Uber has done in transportation industry,” says a joint statement from NextTech chairman Philippe Nguyen and Charles Ng from Haspro.
Incorporated in Singapore, WeShop has businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, the US and Vietnam. It is a unit under the family of NextTech, formerly Peacesoft Corporation, which has re-branded for international expansion.
NextTech, initially backed by IDG Ventures, is investing into dozens of digitalised platforms across the region, including local marketplace, payment gateway, mobile wallet, cross-border shopping, cash-on-delivery gateway, fulfilment network and mobile-POS payments.
