Investment Notes: Rakamin

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May 18, 2023

We are delighted to announce our investment in Rakamin, an Indonesian ed-tech start-up solving the tech talent shortage in Indonesia by upskilling adult learners.

Indonesia’s digital revolution is in full swing. The nation has the biggest internet user base in the region (204.7 million people by 2022) and the largest internet economy (US$77 billion by the end of 2022) which is growing at an unparalleled rate for the region (19% CAGR 2025-2030). At this rate, Indonesia is on track to grow to US$360 billion across all sectors by 2030.

The increasingly high demand for tech workers is already exhausting the supply of local engineers and programmers from local universities. Non-STEM graduates are entering the sector to fulfil this demand but alternative methods to train them are needed.

That’s where Rakamin makes its mark. The growing edtech company is preparing workers for tech roles with a cutting-edge learning platform and pathways, creating the generation of workers to solve the tech shortage. We are pleased to invest in Rakamin’s seed round via the Investible Early-Stage Fund 2 (IESF2) alongside EduSpaze and EWTP Capital.

The digital archipelago set to boom

Indonesia is fast becoming a global tech capital. With the fourth-largest population in the world, an innately decentralised model of working, and a burgeoning technology ecosystem (with 7 tech unicorns minted just this year) – it’s uniquely positioned for innovation.

While it may be on the cusp of an internet boom, human capital is central to addressing the gap between Indonesia’s ambitions and reality. The cultivation of this human capital, though, is challenged by an education gap. Most of Indonesia’s youth receive only a high school education and pursue blue-collar or service industry jobs. In 2018, just over 9% of 25 year-olds held a bachelor’s degree, the lowest among ASEAN nations.

In the category of “knowledge workers”, Indonesia ranked 125th of 131 countries in the Global Innovation Index, demonstrating a clear weakness in finding advanced talent for innovation. If Indonesia’s tech industry is to continue its trajectory and incubate a local tech talent ecosystem, alternative education methods to upskill and re-skill workers will be critical.

Practical training for the next generation of tech workers

Rakamin is designed to train young professionals with no technical background to develop competencies in computer science and technology. In addition to a 4-month long intensive program, students participate in a paid virtual internship program with large local Indonesian tech startups and enterprises to create working simulations of real-world tasks.

Rakamin’s proprietary learning management system (LMS) provides industry professionals as instructors, providing tools and contemporary insights that will be relevant for job seekers to excel in their technology career of choice.

Upon the success of each internship, these young professionals are offered long-term positions in their respective organisations. The combination of simulated tasks, integrated work environments, and career pathway opportunities provide an accessible pathway into the tech world for non-technical workers.

A Rakamin Academy Virtual Internship Cohort

Extensive experience breeding results

Rakamin was founded by second-time founder Andika Deni Prasetya, a member of the founding team of Geevv whilst a sophomore at the University of Indonesia in 2021. Geevv was once touted as the Google or Baidu of Indonesia, but its early success did not last.

Rakamin Founder and CEO, Andika speaking on a panel

Upon graduation, and following a short stint at Telkom Indonesia, Andika launched Rakamin with Ilham Adi Pratama as the CTO and brought other experienced advisors as early shareholders in the form of Dharma Syahputra, who is the Chief HR Officer of PT Kimia Farma (IDX:KAEF), Indonesia’s oldest and largest state-owned enterprise in pharmaceuticals. Along with Dharma, another key advisor includes Imam Teguh Saptono, who was the former CEO of BNI Syariah (IDX:BBNI), a top 5 national Indonesian state-owned bank.

Under this team’s leadership and guidance, Rakamin has trained more than 70,000 Indonesian professionals with more than 150 instructors on its platform.

We’re excited to be a part of the journey as Rakamin solves a talent shortage in one of the world’s most promising tech markets.

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