Chickin, a poultry farming start-up, has secured a significant funding boost with a loan of Rp 250 billion from DBS Indonesia. The start-up aims to use this capital to enhance operational efficiency, particularly by reducing its bank financing costs, as reported by Katadata.co.id, January 20, 2025.

Chickin focuses on improving governance and data management. The company also seeks to ensure healthy business growth. This loan follows a previous investment of US$ 20 million in October 2024, which included both equity and debt funding.

The loan will be crucial for Chickin to lower its cost of funds, a challenge the company has faced with unsecured loans, including P2P lending, which have higher interest rates. CEO Tubagus Syailendra Wangsadisastra emphasized that the goal is to cut costs without compromising operational expenditures.

This move is seen as a step toward ensuring long-term sustainability in the competitive poultry industry. Chickin operates a large network with 12,000 poultry farms across Indonesia. The majority of farms are in Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Through its app and farming management system, Chickin collaborates with farmers via a contract farming model. In this model, farmers raise chickens, while Chickin manages sales to its partners.

Although only about 10% of farmers use the contract farming model, Chickin has a significant opportunity to scale. Only 2% of the total Indonesian market is currently engaged in this model.

Tubagus shared that the company's growth strategy focuses on balancing expansion with financial health. The company aims for a 100% growth rate, but it does not plan to aggressively increase its market share.

Instead, the priority is to optimize operations for long-term viability. This ensures that growth aligns with the company's ability to manage costs and expand sustainably.

The partnership with DBS Indonesia is seen as an important milestone in Chickin’s development. With a strong foundation in technology, the company is working to further enhance its governance structure and data processes.

Chickin's future plans include expanding its customer base and improving service quality. These efforts will help ensure continued success.

PHOTO: MEDIAINDONESIA/ISTIMEWA