Heaptalk, Jakarta — Indonesia’s animal genomics and biotechnology startup, Moosa Genetics, has obtained new funding for an undisclosed amount from East Ventures and is backed by angel investors. The company will utilize the capital injection to build a laboratory, expand its team, and strengthen its marketing strategy and Wagyu partnership to fulfill customer demand.
“We are thrilled to receive the trust and support from East Ventures. This investment validates our vision to advance the cattle industry’s landscape in the archipelago. We believe that Moosa Genetics is at the forefront of unlocking the full potential of local cattle breeding.” The Co-Founder of Moosa Genetics, who also served as the Chairman of Indonesia’s Genomics Association, Ivan Sini, affirmed.
Indonesia’s cattle industry is highly fragmented, and roughly 80% is dominated by smallholder farmers, mainly concentrated in East Java province alone, which accounts for 30% of Indonesia’s cattle population. The company perceived smallholder farmers frequently gain cattle for their savings rather than for the commercial market, which significantly impedes the domestic meat supply.
Furthermore, most cattle breeders are also low-skilled farmers with low-input, low-output production systems and face fundamental challenges in expanding their cattle businesses. This matter covers limited access to finance and capital, the lack of collateral, and a local financial sector that is cautioned in providing loans due to the inherent risks. As a result, domestic production can only satisfy about 40% of Indonesian demand for beef, which leads to Indonesia’s dependency on importing beef, mainly from Australia.
This startup provides biotech-enables innovation in revolutionizing cattle and beef breeding in the archipelago by leveraging embryo transfer technology and innovative gene selection techniques like CRISPR, a technology to selectively modify the DNA to revolutionize cattle breeding and beef production. This biotech startup enhances meat yield and quality with this solution while reducing costs.
However, this startup recognizes the complexity of breeding and acknowledges that a single matrix of genetic development cannot determine the ideal version of local cattle for Indonesia. The widespread expectation of traits, such as disease resilience and superior meat marbling, must be empirically proven for their economic value.
To tackle the challenge, Moosa Genetics emphasizes the importance of collaboration between industry stakeholders, the platform provider, and dedicated researchers to comprehensively assess and measure the magnitude of improvement over the current cattle breeding standards.
“Moosa Genetics’ approach to cattle breeding through biotechnology can revolutionize the livestock industry, addressing critical challenges and demands in agriculture while ensuring sustainable food production and improving domestic food security. With the big opportunity in Indonesia, we believe in this startup to drive positive change in this space,” The Partner of East Ventures, Avina Sugiarto, said.
Established in 2016, Moosa Genetics aims to redefine and set new standards of excellence in Indonesia’s cattle industry. This Indonesia biotech company has operated in two locations within West Sumatera and aims to expand its partnership with breeders in each Indonesia region.
