Aquatech Startup Delos Receives Financing From Payfazz To Develop Shrimp Pond Sector

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Delos)

JAKARTA - The aquatech start-up that has penetrated the shrimp aquaculture sector, Delos, is said to have succeeded in obtaining investment commitments from the agency-based financial startup Payfazz for business development. This was stated directly by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Delos Guntur Mallarangeng.

"One of our investors is Hendra Kwik, the founder of Payfazz," he told VOI in a special interview, Thursday, December 30.

However, Guntur was reluctant to explain in more detail regarding the investment commitments made by the fellow startups.

"I don't want to say too much. In essence, we are trying to collaborate with financial institutions and fintech companies, as well as banks that want to participate in funding cultivators," he said.

In Guntur's explanation, many farmers find it difficult to get access to formal finance. This is because financial institutions such as banks assess this sector as having a certain level of risk so that many are categorized as bankable.

"Well, cultivators who are our clients, of course we know what their portfolio is like, what their results are, how they are managed, and how they operate. Well, this is what we then convey to financial institutions that they have the potential to grow and need financing," he said.

As an illustration, Guntur said that the economic value of shrimp pond cultivation can only be achieved with a minimum area of 4 hectares. Meanwhile, each hectare of land costs around IDR 2.5 billion to harvest. That means in one cycle (90 days) it costs around Rp. 10 billion.

"This, if successful, can be in billions or even tens of billions of harvests," he said.

For information, Delos is an aquatech startup that focuses on applying technology in the shrimp farming process in ponds. It was stated that the innovation carried out by Delos could increase production from an average of 7-8 per hectare to up to 35 tonnes per hectare.