The archive · Climate & Energy · Product decision · 2017–2023
Jala bets data and IoT can modernize Indonesia's shrimp farms; 20k users, $13.1M Series A
A shrimp farmer and an engineer built farm-management software plus sensors for Indonesia's ponds; 20,000+ users and a $13.1M round followed.
Jala
What the business is
Jala builds an end-to-end digital ecosystem for Indonesia's shrimp farming: a farm-management app, multi-parameter water-quality monitoring hardware, farm credit scoring, supplies, and a marketplace connecting harvests to buyers.
Starting capital：US$13.1 million Series A led by Intudo Ventures with SMDV and existing investors Mirova and Meloy Fund (November 2023)
How it started
In 2017 chairman Aryo Wiryawan — a shrimp farmer since 2001 — and CEO Liris Maduningtyas, an engineer, founded Jala after seeing how difficult it was to monitor Indonesian shrimp ponds, where farmers relied on tradition and reacted to problems after they happened.
What happened
Jala expanded from monitoring into financing, inputs, and market access: farm credit scoring helped farmers prove creditworthiness, and harvest-access services connected them to buyers with fast payment. The company also partnered with Conservation International on Climate Smart Shrimp, combining intensification with mangrove restoration.
How it ended up
Still operating and scaling: with the 2023 Series A, Jala planned to expand across Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara, bringing its end-to-end solution to remote farming areas, and continued adding disease prediction and automation features.
Background
Jala was founded in 2017 by Aryo Wiryawan, a shrimp farmer since 2001, and Liris Maduningtyas, an engineer, who bet that Indonesian shrimp farming would modernize if farmers got real data instead of guesswork. The company's wedge was monitoring: an app plus connected sensors that track water quality, feed, and growth in real time.
The approach found a market. By November 2023 Jala reported over 20,000 users and more than 35,300 ponds monitored through its app, and it had expanded from monitoring into farm credit scoring, supplies, and harvest-to-market services with fast, secure payments.
That traction attracted a US$13.1 million Series A led by Intudo Ventures with Sinar Mas Digital Ventures and existing investors Mirova and Meloy Fund. Jala said the capital would extend its end-to-end solution to remote regions including Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara.
The company is still operating and scaling, positioning itself as the data layer for a shrimp industry that supplies global markets — a quieter bet than Indonesia's earlier aquaculture unicorns, but one built on a measurable wedge rather than a headline valuation.
What has to be true
- Monitoring was a concrete, low-friction first step that worked with existing farming practices instead of replacing them.
- The app's 20,000+ users and 35,300+ monitored ponds show farmers actually adopted the product, not just bought a pitch.
- Farm credit scoring created a new revenue and financing path by turning farm data into creditworthiness.
- Indonesia's position as the world's fourth-largest shrimp producer gave the bet a large addressable industry to digitize.
What can be applied
In a fragmented, tradition-heavy industry, start with the single measurement farmers lack — then let the data unlock adjacent revenue like credit and marketplaces once trust is established.
Aftermath
As of September 2026, Jala continues to operate in Indonesia's aquaculture sector, expanding its farm-management platform, water-quality hardware, and market-access services across Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara, and adding prediction and automation features to its app.
Sources
- Raised Series A Funding of US$13.1 Million, JALA Is Determined to Strengthen Shrimp Cultivation in Indonesia
- Jala nets $13 million investment
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