WhatsApp, Paypal invest in Indonesian payment and ride-hailing firm Gojek

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) messaging platform WhatsApp and Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) on Wednesday said they have invested in payment and ride-hailing firm Gojek as part of the Indonesian firm’s ongoing fundraising round.

WhatsApp and Paypal did not disclose the size of the investment or the stakes they would receive.

WhatsApp Chief Operations Officer Matt Idema in a blog post said the messaging platform would work with Gojek “to support the growth of millions of small businesses”.

Paypal said in a statement that its payment capabilities would be integrated into Gojek’s services.

Reuters reported in April that Facebook was in talks with Gojek about an investment and was working with three e-wallet operators in Indonesia, including Gojek’s GoPay, to launch mobile payment services in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

The same month, WhatsApp invested $5.7 billion in the digital arm of India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS).

Gojek was founded in 2010 as a ride-hailing firm and has since evolved into a one-stop app through which users can make online payments and order food and services. It is active in four markets and owns an e-wallet startup in the Philippines.

The firm is valued at $10 billion, sources have said. It closed a $1.2 billion funding round in March, showed to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.

“With Facebook and WhatsApp being the dominant social and messaging platforms in Indonesia, this investment cements Gojek’s position as the leading super app for more than 300 million people,” said Hian Goh, partner at Openspace Ventures, which lead Gojek’s series A funding round in 2014.

Indonesia is one of WhatsApp’s five biggest markets, with over 100 million users.

Reporting by Fanny Potkin; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christopher Cushing

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