Facebook and PayPal Invest in Gojek

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian ride-hailing giant Gojek announced on Wednesday that Facebook and PayPal have invested in the startup’s most recent fundraising and that the American online payment service provider will be integrated into Gojek. 

The Gojek - PayPal collaboration effectively opens access for Gopay users to PayPal’s network services that is spread across 25 million worldwide merchants. 

PayPal Head of Corporate Development and Ventures for APAC, Farhad Maleki wrote in today’s press release “Southeast Asia is at a crucial point in the digital adoption process” and that this partnership will offer new opportunities to provide financial services to consumers, service providers, or merchants. 

Moreover, additional investments were also made by Google and Tencent.

“Facebook, PayPal, Google, and Tencent joining us is an acknowledgment from innovative global corporations upon Gojek’s positive impact towards Indonesia and Southeast Asia,” Gojek Co-CEO  Andre Soelistyo wrote in today’s press release. 

The funding from the four global tech companies, along with numerous others, is planned to support much more small to medium enterprises (SMEs) into the digital realm as their digital payment infrastructure. 

“We have the chance to reach something truly unique along with our attempts to support many more businesses toward the digital world and ensure that millions of our customers would profit from the digital economy,” said the Gojek Co-CEO. 

Whatsapp chief operating officer Matt Idema also echoed Andre’s goal to broaden Southeast Asia’s digital economy community. 

CAESAR AKBAR