In this sector, Tamasia is competing with Bukalapak, one of the most popular e-commerce sites in Indonesia. What will be their game plan to win this battle?

Tamasia CEO and Founder Muhammad Assad (left) with Sandiaga Uno, entrepreneur and Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta, at Tamasia’s launching event

Gold remains a popular option for many Indonesians who are looking for alternatives to invest their money in. Apart from its continuously increasing price, its popularity is also strongly related to the low level of financial literacy in the country, as reported by The Jakarta Post.

Seeing this trend, e-commerce startups in the country then began to introduce a feature on their platform to help users purchase and sell gold, such as Bukalapak’s BukaEmas which was launched in June.

The most recent player in the field is Tamasia, a mobile app that enables users to buy, sell, and deposit gold under the sharia finance system.

Launched on October 11, users can utilise the app to check for gold prices in the market and purchase gold for as little as one gram. They are also able to pay in installments for up to 24 months using various payment methods from bank transfer, cash, to a deposit at the mobile app’s e-payment system.

The startup is working with state-owned mining company PT Antam as the supplier for certified gold products.

It also added an online-to-offline (O2O) element into their business by working with individuals as reseller agents to promote the platform; these agents are able to earn extra income through commission or profit-sharing mechanism.

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The use of such agents have been gaining popularity in the Indonesian e-commerce scene, as it is believed to help under-served communities in rural areas to access e-commerce and fintech services. tech startups such as Kudo (which had been acquired by ride-hailing giant Kudo) and Kioson (which is the first Indonesian startup to get listed on IDX) are known to implement such concept.

In running the business, Tamasia CEO and Founder Muhammad Assad is fully aware of the possibility to compete with existing players such as Bukalapak.

“We have a different uniqueness and added value compared to the others. Some competitors are still working in desktop platform, while we are already on [mobile] Android and iOS devices. I also believe that we are one of the very few that is fully compliant to the sharia finance principles,” he says.

It is only fitting for the startup to implement the sharia element in their business, with Indonesia being the largest Muslim population in the world. Even on global level, there has been a rising demand for halal-certified products and financial services under the sharia system, which prohibits riba’ (earning interests).

Assad also explains that the company is targeting the Indonesia’s 42 million strong middle class as their core market.

“Not only that they have the purchase power, they also have the knowledge of how gold investment is a better option than property investment … in terms of liquidity,” he says.

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South Jakarta-based Tamasia was founded in May. With its mobile app already available for both Android and iOS devices, the startup claimed that it has been downloaded for more than 1,500 times.

Apart from founding Tamasia, Assad is also the CEO of Rayyan Capital, an investment firm that works in the field of renewable energy, food and beverage, and property.

Graduating from Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, he had also written books on the topics of religion and his experience as a student in the country. The CEO is also a host of a national TV show that profiles successful Muslim women.

Currently running his company through bootstrapping, Assad explained that the company’s revenue stream was secured through sales of gold and registration fee of reseller agents.

“Despite being a startup, we don’t want to become a company that is burning money,” he says.

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Image Credit: Tamasia

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