Ideabox accelerator accepts all 8 startups, replaces Hartaku with Eatzify

Eatzify co-founder Suka Cita Pasaribu delivers a pitch presentation.

The Ideabox accelerator program (co-organized by Indonesian telco Indosat, venture capital firm Mountain SEA Ventures, and communications company Ooredoo) narrowed down its second batch of finalists to eight startups on Sunday night at the Indosat headquarters in Central Jakarta after a two-day boot camp event.

During the weekend-long gathering, local entrepreneurs took advice from mentors and fine-tuned their investor pitches. Each of the 18 candidates delivered a five-minute-long final pitch to persuade judges why their idea, team, and market positioning in Indonesia are worth investing in. In conjunction with a StartupLokal event last night, Ideabox announced it would admit all eight of its finalists.

On Sunday night, Mountain SEA Ventures managing director Andy Zain welcomed Hartaku, an app for financial reports, to the stage as one of its eight finalists. However, during the announcement at StartupLokal, Tauseef Riaz – Indosat’s digital services chief and one of Ideabox’s venture partners – indicated that the Jakarta-based food video review app Eatzify was now on the roster in place of Hartaku. The switch was confirmed via an Indosat press release earlier this morning.

The startups that made the final cut were:

• Eatzify
• Women’s business participation product Wobe
• Local transport efficiency company Indojek
• Travel and adventure booking site Gogonesia
• Business analytics app Pawoon
• Data mining wifi product Wifimu
• Photo editor Cupslice
• Company benefits initiative PerkBox (formerly Imbalan).

See: Indonesia’s Ideabox accelerator unveils 2nd batch of finalists, featuring transport apps and foodtech

Indosat CEO and President Director Alexander Rusli says he is proud that Ideabox is getting local and international recognition. He claims that Indosat now has one of the largest technology programs in Southeast Asia with its early stage investments through Ideabox and growth stage investments through a Softbank–Indosat Fund.

(UPDATE 9/16/14: This article was updated to show Ideabox’s  final decision to admit all eight finalists into its program, and to replace Hartaku with Eatzify.)