Achmad Zaky, cofounder of Indonesian e-commerce firm Bukalapak, became one of the country’s wealthiest people after the company made history as the first tech unicorn to trade on its domestic stock exchange.
The online marketplace saw its shares surge 25% from the initial offer price of 850 rupiah (6 cents) apiece in its trading debut on Friday, reaching the upper limit. The Jakarta-based company, which raised $1.5 billion in the country’s largest-ever initial public offering, has a current market value of $7.6 billion.
Zaky, who stepped down as Bukalapak’s CEO early last year but continues to serve as an advisor, has a net worth of about $330 million derived from his 4.3% stake in the firm.
The 34-year-old is a prominent figure within Indonesia’s business community owing to his success in building Bukalapak from its humble beginnings into the country’s third largest e-commerce player by monthly web visits.
Zaky came up with the idea of Bukalapak, which translates as “opening a stall,†as way to help small merchants improve their sales by selling their wares on the internet. He teamed up with schoolmates Nugroho Herucahyono and Fajrin Rasyid in 2010 to build the company’s website with about $5 in capital.
While Zaky was still at the helm, Bukalapak joined the unicorn club when its valuation crossed the $1 billion mark in 2017. In the same year, Zaky and his team launched an online-to-offline platform known as Mitra Bukalapak. The platform enables mom-and-pop stalls to sell virtual products and other goods to customers and it also connects the shop owners with suppliers.
Bukalapak’s team visits a mom-and-pop kiosk in Indonesia. Bukalapak
Bukalapak, which still has yet to turn a profit, laid off about 10% of its workforce in September 2019 in what it said was an effort to maintain efficiency. In January 2020, Zaky stepped down from his position as CEO after ten years at the helm. He was replaced by Rachmat Kaimuddin, a former director for finance and planning at Bank Bukopin.
A few months after Zaky’s departure, cofounders Herucahyono and Rasyid also left their respective roles. Zaky subsequently established a venture capital fund called Init 6, which targets early stage startups.
