Bukalapak becomes the first e-commerce platform from Indonesia to expand its reach in Malaysia and other countries within the region through its BukaGlobal platform.
Bukalapak hopes to connect over 4 million Indonesian sellers to customers throughout the region including Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Brunei Darussalam.
Malaysia has become an attractive market for the e-commerce platform thanks to its phenomenal growth and potential. We’ve recorded the fourth highest e-commerce transactions in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
By the end of 2019, Malaysia’s e-commerce marketplace is expected to exceed US$3.7 billion or about RM15.5 billion.
Fajrin Rasyid, Co-Founder and President of Bukalapak said, “Through BukaGlobal, Bukalapak provides advanced access for Indonesian SMEs to connect with multiple countries, such as Malaysia.”
He also expects Bukalapak to cater for the estimated 2 million Indonesians that are residing in Malaysia.
“Our primary consideration was also the number of Indonesians that are residing in Malaysian which has grown from strength to strength over the years,” he added.
Designed to address logistics challenges in the region
One of the biggest hurdles faced by SMEs is logistics and reaching out beyond its immediate area of business. With its regional reach, BukaGlobal plans to empower SMEs with technology, connectivity and region-wide logistics to expand their business.
“BukaGlobal is designed to address the logistic challenges in the region, such as high cost in postal and courier delivery. We want to break down barriers that hinder young and small entrepreneurs from competing on a global playing field, primarily on access, infrastructure and connectivity,” Fajrin added.
Some of the local Indonesian products available on Bukalapak 
Some of the local Indonesian products available on Bukalapak
Six to eleven days to deliver to Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak
The BukaGlobal app is available for download from Google’s Play Store here and Apple’s App Store here. At the moment, the platform is available only in Bahasa Indonesia but the developers assured us the English and other languages will be made available soon.
Buyers are able to order products from Indonesia weighing 500 grams and above. Not all products available on the platform can be shipped outside of Indonesia, currently. To find products that can be shipped outside of Indonesia, tap on the “Buka Global” on the home screen of the app.
For now, the delivery time takes rather long compared to the same-day deliveries offered by its competitors like Lazada and Shopee — up to six to eleven days depending on the destination. The service delivers across Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak.
