Indonesian coding bootcamp organizer Hacktiv8 has raised USD 3 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by East Ventures. Several other investors were part of the investment, including Sovereign’s Capital, SMDV, Skystar Capital, Convergence Ventures, RMKB Ventures, Prasetia, and Everhaus.
The tech scene in Southeast Asia’s most populous country struggles with a talent shortage. According to a report titled “The Digital Archipelago” published by McKinsey, Indonesia has great demand for technical talent, but is far behind China and India in the number of science, technology, engineering, and math graduates. With that problem in mind, two entrepreneurs, Ronald Ishak and Riza Fahmi, established Hacktiv8 in 2016 to cultivate a new crop of technical personnel.
Hacktiv8 offers a series of intensive training in JavaScript, Node.js, Vue.js, Facebook’s React framework, and other tools, giving beginner coders the skills and knowledge to become full-fledged developers. The bootcamp runs ten to 12 hours a day, five to six days a week, for 12 to 18 weeks. The stringent coursework means that “only the best students can graduate from the program,” Hacktiv8 said.
The firm will use its new capital to build more schools and fund its Income Share Agreement that was launched in May 2019. The agreement allows students to enroll in Hacktiv8’s full-stack JavaScript training program without having to pay tuition in advance. According to Hacktiv8’s website, students pay back their tuition only after their monthly salary reaches IDR 10 million (USD 730), upon which they then transfer 15% of their income to Hacktiv8 for 36 months.
Hacktiv8 claimed that its graduates receive multiple job offers within three weeks after completing the bootcamp, with an average entry-level salary of IDR 11 million (USD 800), well above the nation’s average personal monthly income of USD 183 as of December 2019.
Hacktiv8 works with 250 hiring partners, including major tech firms like Tokopedia, Gojek, and Bukalapak. These companies also serve as advisors to Hacktiv8 to ensure that its curriculum is relevant to the tech sector’s needs. Hacktiv8 also partners with financial institutions and corporations like CIMB Niaga, Hana Bank, and Siloam, which offer scholarships to the students, a company statement said.
