Indonesia’s Kopi Kenangan has raised $ 109 million in a Series B funding round led by the company’s existing investor, Sequoia Capital.
New investors in the funding round included B Capital, Horizons Ventures, Verlinvest, Kunlun and Sofina as well as the company’s first institutional investor Alpha JWC Ventures.
The new funding follows Kopi Kenangan’s $20 million Series A round in June 2019 led by Sequoia Capital and its seed round in 2018 led by local investor Alpha JWC.
In December 2019, Kopi Kenangan also announced an expansion of its Series A round with additional investment from Arrive, a Roc Nation company, Serena Ventures, world-renowned basketball player Caris LeVert, and Sweetgreen chief executive officer and co-Founder Jonathan Neman, amongst others.
The current funding round is expected to strengthen its operations in Indonesia, launch new products, invest in technology as well as to protect its employees amid the ongoing pandemic.
“The hospitality industry is facing the biggest existential crisis of our generation,” said Edward Tirtanata, co-founder and chief executive officer of Kopi Kenangan.
“It’s hard to tell when the sector will return to normal but when it does, it will look very different. As a growing startup, we are adapting quickly to the challenge through contactless commerce and uncompromising hygiene standards throughout our stores. The well-being of our employees is a big priority and we are investing in their safety, along with enhanced health benefits and additional training to help them cope with this massive change,” he added.
Kopi Kenangan has also committed to helping local F&B entrepreneurs with technology, investment and mentorship through the food accelerator programme, Digitarasa.
The company currently employs 3,000 people and hopes to create more jobs across cities and towns as it opens new stores. It expects to reach 500 stores by the end of 2020.
Currently, Kopi Kenangan operates 324 stores across Indonesia and reaches over a million customers through its mobile app. The company has also announced plans to expand to neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Phillipines and Malaysia post-pandemic.
“F&B is one of the largest consumer opportunities in Southeast Asia and Kopi Kenangan has built a very authentic and compelling identity among millions of Indonesians. We are looking forward to bringing the same delightful experience and tasty products in more categories and formats as the business expands into newer markets” said Rohit Agarwal, Vice President, Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore.
In other news, co-founder of social media company Facebook, Eduardo Saverin will be joining Kopi Kenangan’s board of directors
