Indonesia's Moka buys retail intelligence startup GetFocus

Moka, a Jakarta-based firm that provides cloud-based point-of-sale (PoS) software, has acquired Mumbai-headquartered retail analytics company GetFocus for an undisclosed amount, the latter said in a statement. Venture capital firm Sequoia India, which led Moka’s Series B round of $24 million in September, played matchmaker for the acquisition of the firm legally named as Focus Analytics Pvt. Ltd. 

Prateek Chaturvedi, co-founder and chief executive of GetFocus, told TechCircle, “We were in talks with Sequoia for a Series A round and were given an option to work with Moka.” The IIT-Bombay graduate added, “The GetFocus product will help Moka drive retail intelligence as an add-on product to its PoS software.” Chaturvedi and co-founder and tech chief Manoj Gudi, who set up GetFocus in 2013, will be joining Moka at Jakarta. Gudi is an electrical and electronics engineer from the University of Mumbai.

GetFocus uses wireless analytics to collect data on customer walk-in, targeted marketing and notifications. The company, which has worked with ticketing platform BookMyShow, HDFC Bank and more, has shut its India operations to focus on Moka’s clients in Indonesia.

“We will be setting up the technology office for Moka in Bengaluru with 15 to 20 people to begin with. This is part of a larger trend as companies look at India technology centres due to the ready availability of talent,” said Chaturvedi.

GetFocus had raised $500,000 in two tranches from high net worth individuals and registered a client base of 10 million users on its platform. The product from GetFocus helps businesses increase customer walk-ins and revenue, decrease cost, and build brands, said Chaturvedi.

Moka chief executive Haryanto Tanjo said in a statement, “Moka has been growing very rapidly in the past, and we have more than 12,000 merchants using us everyday.” The executive added, “We realised the need to have a very strong technology and research arm in India, and acquiring GetFocus helps us strengthen our technology excellence and leadership and bring the best services for your customers.” 

Founded in 2014 by Tanjo and Grady Laksmono, Moka provides a PoS application and an integrated digital payment solution. It also offers loyalty programmes for repeat customers, tracks inventory and customer feedback and compiles intelligence on best-selling items and busiest hours.