Closing The Gap

This start-up is trying to help Indonesia's fishermen get a fair price for their catch

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The co-founders of Aruna: Indraka Fadhlillah, Utari Octavianty and Farid Naufal Aslam.
Aruna

Utari Octavianty is no stranger to imposter syndrome.

The 28-year-old is the co-founder of Aruna, an Indonesian farm-to-table e-commerce start-up that gives fishermen direct access to global consumers, fetching fair prices for their catch.

"When we talked to other [start-up] founders, they came from Harvard, Stanford, and suddenly there's us — from a local university in Indonesia," she told CNBC Make It.

"But somehow that became the motivation, it's not the education that matters. It's how we create impact," she said. 

If this business grows bigger and bigger, is my experience enough to handle all of this?
Utari Octavianty
Co-founder, Aruna

Indeed, the impact that she and her co-founders, Farid Naufal Aslam and Indraka Fadhlillah, have created is far-reaching — over 26,000 fishermen across 150 fishing communities in Indonesia now use Aruna.

They were even praised by Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo during the 2019 ASEAN Summit for their innovation and role in increasing the income of fishermen. 

How is this multimillion-dollar fishery start-up begin? CNBC Make It finds out. 

Disapproval from parents 

When Octavianty decided to start a business related to fisheries, her mother was so angry she didn't call for a month, she recalled. 

"My parents didn't allow me to join the fishery business because the economic value … is not good," she said. 

"That's why my parents told me to study in technology [in university], they had expectations for me to find a good job in the tech industry."

Utari Octavianty with her mother.
Utari Octavianty

Her mother's concerns weren't unfounded, however. Octavianty grew up in a fishing village and her mum sold fishing tools for a living. Money was always tight, she said. 

"In university, I realized that other kids [who were not poor] could talk about dreams. But for me and my friends, we just talked about how to survive, how to have more money, how to pay the electricity for our homes." 

Indonesia is one of the world's largest seafood producers. In 2019, the fishery sector in Indonesia contributed $27 billion to the national gross domestic product. 

Yet, the World Bank reported elevated levels of poverty in the small-scale fishery sector — the 2018 poverty rate in coastal villages was 1.3 times higher than in non-coastal villages.

What happens mostly is that the fishermen don't get paid … the middlemen will say that they will pay you tomorrow, but he would not. That's why fishermen get poorer and poorer.
Utari Octavianty
Co-founder, Aruna

So when Octavianty found a way to marry technology and her personal experiences, she knew she couldn't easily give it up despite her parents' resistance. 

"[My co-founders and I] created a timeline together. We said, let's commit for at least one and a half years. If this fails, then let's find a job," she said. 

"At that time, we thought, if it's not us, maybe someone else will do it in a different way … so let's just start."

Removing the middlemen

Aruna was founded in 2015, when the three co-founders were in their final year of university. They had a simple aim: providing consumers with a steady supply of seafood.

But after spending time with fishermen, they realized that there were more problems they could help to solve. 

For example, a long supply chain was a major factor that prevented fishermen from selling their catch at a fair price. 

"Fishermen need to sell to the local middlemen and the local middlemen will sell to the city middleman, the city middleman will sell to the province middleman and so on."

In 2019, the fishery sector in Indonesia contributed $27 billion to the national gross domestic product, but the World Bank reported elevated levels of poverty within the small-scale fishery sector.
Aruna

"What happens mostly is that the fishermen don't get paid … the middlemen will say that they will pay you tomorrow, but he would not. That's why fishermen get poorer and poorer. It has happened to my family before too," said Octavianty, whose uncle is also a fisherman. 

Besides shortening the supply chain, the digital fish auction company also uses data mapping to ensure fair trade. 

"We have real-time data about the seasonality of seafood all over Indonesia … [for example], when it's the season for the lobster, crabs and fish," Octavianty said. 

"Most of the seafood retail industry needs steady seafood supplies … so if something is not in season on one island, we can supply from another island where it is." 

One of the challenges that Aruna faced was the inadequate infrastructure in fishing villages. As many lacked access to electricity and internet connection, Aruna worked with local governments to acquire satellite internet and solar panels.
Aruna

Today, Aruna is "one of the largest integrated fisheries commerce in Indonesia," said Octavianty. According to her, the fishery platform exported 44 million kilograms of seafood into seven countries last year, most of them to the United States and China. 

Giving fishermen direct access to the market has also paid off. 

"We helped fishermen to increase their income more than two to three times higher compared to before they joined Aruna," Octavianty said. 

Personal mission  

Octavianty has come a long way since her days as an undergraduate. Her company has raised a total of $65 million in Series A funding, which according to Aruna, is the largest Series A funding for Indonesian start-ups. 

In January this year, Aruna also announced a US$30 million Series A follow-on funding led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India. 

But despite being one of Forbes' 30 Under 30s in Asia, and with a million-dollar company under her belt, Octavianty still feels like an imposter at times. 

"I am more afraid. I have so many questions for myself. Am I capable of doing this? If this business grows bigger and bigger, is my experience enough to handle all of this?"

What keeps her going is her personal mission she wrote in her diary 16 years ago — to lift families from fishing villages out of poverty. 

"[But now] it's no longer to prove [myself] to my friends. It's more like, how we can keep [the business] sustainable, while improving the lives of people."

If you can relate your personal mission to your business mission, then you will have all the determination you need." 
Utari Octavianty
Co-founder, Aruna

She has one piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs: Define and refine your personal mission. 

"You need to be very clear about what your mission is — it's not the company mission, but your mission as a person," she said.

"Because if you can relate your personal mission to your business mission, then you will have all the determination you need." 

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