eFishery, a burgeoning tech startup focusing on fishery management systems in Indonesia, has achieved unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion in 2023 after securing additional funding from Series D investors, including 42XFund from the UAE, Temasek, and SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. However, in just two years, the situation has taken a turn for the worse.
Reports indicate that eFishery has announced the termination of over 1,000 positions out of approximately 1,600 employees, accounting for nearly 90% of its workforce. This drastic move comes following suspicious events involving co-founders Gibran Huzaifah and Chrisna Aditya, leading to their ousting from the board and the subsequent appointment of an interim CEO who also resigned within weeks.
The board of eFishery uncovered discrepancies in the financial statements for the first nine months of 2024, with reported revenues exceeding the actual amount by $150 million, resulting in a reported profit status that actually reflects substantial losses.
While the fishery management solution business, including fish and shrimp farms, has failed to generate the projected profits, the board is considering financial advisory consultations and the possibility of liquidating assets to settle outstanding debts.
Source: The Diplomat and Bloomberg
**TLDR: eFishery, a tech startup in Indonesia, attains unicorn status but faces financial woes, employee layoffs, and accounting discrepancies, prompting consideration of asset liquidation to address mounting debts.**
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