Indonesia’s economics and business online media firm Katadata has recently completed its second phase of funding with investment coming from Emerging Media Opportunity Fund I, L.P. (EMOF) and leading financial analyst Lin Che Wei.
EMOF is managed by Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), a New York-based non-profit organization that has provided US$163 million to finance more than 100 independent media firms across 39 countries.
“This move is in line with MDIF and EMOF’s mission which is to provide financing and technical assistance to support independent media around the world,” said MDIF’s Deputy CEO Mohamed Nanabhay.
“Katadata has a clear mission to develop quality content, in addition to being a highly professional independent media that is providing a valuable service to anyone interested in the Indonesian economy and business,” he added.
Besides funding, MDIF will also be committed to giving support to Katadata in the form of training for capacity building in particular with business development to establish the company as a leader in producing quality content.
“Katadata must have a strong business foundation from which to serve its audience,” said Nanabhay. “With that, the business can grow sustainably and develop new products that provide reliable, quality news and information to a growing market.”
Founded in 2012, Katadata provides in-depth economic and business information which are supported by profound data and analyses. Made for the public viewership, the information are also presented in a simple and interesting way through visual infographics and videos.
Despite that, the news content and infographics published on its website – katadata.co and databoks.co – has also became reference for policy makers. On certain instances, Katadata’s content has even been cited by international media as news reference.
Using the capital from this funding phase, Katadata’s CEO Metta Dharmasaputra said the company will develop its businesses, especially in terms of developing content and to strengthen infrastructure and data management systems.
Moving forward, Katadata also plans to launch subscriber content soon. The aim is that by developing paid product, the firm can create more sustainable revenue streams.
“Given Katadata’s current position, we believe this is a huge opportunity,” said Dharmasaputra.
