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The topic of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives has come up a lot recently, and I, for one, am glad for it.
Sometimes, it seems that so much of what happens in the tech and business worlds are solely to make money. I’m just happy that there’s now at least some proper attention on innovations that go toward saving the planet and reducing inequalities.
In today’s premium article, my colleague, Putra Muskita, spoke with Pandu Sjahrir, founding partner at AC Ventures and a member of the boards of the Indonesia Stock Exchange and GoTo Financial.
Sjahrir is a man of many talents, to say the least. And he says that ESG is the next big thing in the archipelago.
Today we look at:
- Pandu Sjahrir’s view on the future role of ESG in Indonesia
- A Malaysia-based conversational commerce platform’s series A round to the tune of US$7 million
- Other newsy highlights such as the US$2.3 million seed round of a machine learning startup and the new hires at a couple of companies
Premium summary
Indonesia, the “lungs of the earth”
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Did you know that the world’s third- and fourth-largest rainforests are mostly located within Indonesia? Before reading today’s premium piece, I didn’t.
That’s just one reason why the nation has an important role to play in the future of ESG. Pandu Sjahrir tells us more.
- No nickel and diming: Indonesia is the world’s top producer of nickel – a key ingredient for batteries – producing an estimated 1 million tons in 2021 (about 37% of the global supply for that year). President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has even publicly appealed to Tesla founder Elon Musk for the firm to manufacture its electric cars – and not just its batteries – in the country.
- Why take four when you only need two? Electrum, an electric vehicle company where Sjahrir serves as CEO, is aiming to tackle one subset of Indonesia’s road vehicles: electric motorcycles. “This is where I’m most passionate,” Sjahrir says. “With GoTo being one of the country’s largest users of motorcycles, why don’t we utilize it? Indonesia can be the world’s largest player in electric two-wheelers.”
- ESG on all fronts: AC Ventures, which recently reached the first close of its US$250 million fund, has also committed to certain ESG standards. Sjahrir notes that the firm’s overall net impact ratio was 37%. For context, companies in the S&P 500 collectively averaged at 2%. Half of the firm’s senior leadership roles are also occupied by women.
Read more: Pandu Sjahrir, Indonesian tech’s power broker, on his next act: energy transition
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