How Indonesia’s largest telco wants to empower a new generation of entrepreneurs

Indonesian entrepreneurs looking to upgrade and upskill have often found themselves facing a deluge of online resources. As they seek to set up and scale their businesses, they often have to sift through a sea of information, much of which is difficult to verify or might not be trustworthy.

And entrepreneurship is a tricky business. While entrepreneurs can get advice and guidance from existing avenues, these need to be properly structured and not “something learned by flipping through TikTok,” says Rachel Goh, chief marketing officer of Indonesian telecommunications firm Telkomsel.

Rachel Goh, chief marketing officer of Telkomsel / Photo credit: Telkomsel

Many Indonesian entrepreneurs are also looking for more than just guidance or lessons. They also want a support network of like-minded individuals they can identify with and could help them with their specific needs and struggles, says Goh. They’re also seeking local insights that are relevant to the Indonesian market.

This is where Telkomsel’s Kuncie comes in. Launched by the telecommunications giant in June, the edtech platform intends to provide budding Indonesian entrepreneurs with practical and technical skills.

Supporting Indonesia’s digital transformation

Kuncie was developed with the vision of empowering the country’s fledgling entrepreneurs with practical skills through bite-sized, hyperlocalized content and a strong network of mentors that can be accessed at any time and from anywhere via its app.

On top of having guides and lessons on growing a business, Kuncie also has a community of like-minded go-getters and mentors who can provide verified, legitimate advice on how to go about it. The platform also adds a more personal touch, going beyond lesson plans to providing new entrepreneurs with avenues for private mentoring sessions.

Photo credit: Kuncie

“It’s not only the big companies that are looking for digital opportunities but also hundreds or thousands of social commerce entrepreneurs who want to build their digital skills,” says Goh.

And it’s these people that Telkomsel wants to help amid a worsening pandemic.

“Now, they can’t even go out and they’re [stuck] at home. If they have a phone, we want to help them make their next meal with that phone,” Goh observes.

By upskilling these entrepreneurs, Telkomsel hopes that Kuncie can drive Indonesia’s talent and skill development, says Goh. In her view, this allows the telco to play an important role in Indonesia’s digitalization journey and to support the nation’s growth through talent and skills development.

Spinning off on its own

Despite having many of the elements for a successful venture, Telkomsel understood that it might not always be able to provide the right ingredients and catalysts for a young, fast-moving company like Kuncie. That’s partly why the platform is being run like a startup instead of operating as a division within Telkomsel itself.

“We need a very lean, inventive, and agile team, and with the tight time frame of goals needed to succeed, the speed of decision-making is very different in this team,” says Goh. With the demand for services like Kuncie rising rapidly and sensing a closing window of opportunity, Telkomsel made the crucial decision to spin Kuncie off and run it as a startup with a core team of less than 40 members.

“We allow that agility and we need inventiveness. They need to hear more from the users and the frictions of the market rather than hear from the shareholders like us. That’s what makes it work,” explains Goh.

But being affiliated with Telkomsel also has its perks, says Hendra Saputra, general manager of Kuncie.

Hendra Saputra, general manager of Kuncie / Photo credit: Kuncie

Using Telkomsel’s resources has helped a range of operations, from market research to talent acquisition. The insights that the telco has gleaned over the decades, as well as its wide reach among users and strong network within the digital ecosystem, enable it to empower Kuncie to provide the most in-demand and relevant content for its users.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have Indonesia’s biggest telco as a backer. Saputra says that Kuncie initially tried cold calling potential mentors,but it was Telkomsel’s reputation as a trusted brand that helped the team to get big names like local filmmaker Joko Anwar, MasterChef Indonesia judge Arnold Poernomo, and Halodoc founder Jonathan Sudharta onboard as mentors.

An explosive head start

After its public launch in June, Kuncie is off to a good start. According to Saputra, the firm has exceeded its own targets for user acquisition: itnow has over 70 mentors and an extensive library of content on its platform.

This early success affirms that Kuncie is headed in the right direction, according to Goh. Going forward, the platform is looking to expand its learning plans with more in-depth topics and grow its roster of mentors. However, it isn’t just hoping to find the biggest names across industries.

“It’s about finding the people who have done it [and are] five to 10 steps ahead of you,” says Saputra. “These are the mentors that we [want to] have so that people can easily follow and still catch up.”

However, Goh says that Kuncie still has its work cut out for itself as it strives to become the platform for entrepreneurs to unlock their potential and achieve their ambitions.

She added that Kuncie is looking to expand its offerings beyond just entrepreneurship. The firm is exploring developing content for creatives, hobbyists, and young professionals looking to upskill, and it wants to roll out accreditation programs for different skills that can be recognized by employers. It’s also keen on entering the business-to-business sector by working with corporations to help upskill and reskill workers.

Ultimately, Kuncie wants to become a true community for Indonesians to learn and thrive.

“We hope that with higher awareness, we will see more coaches and mentors from various fields stepping forward to be part of this community and encourage more Indonesians to use Kuncie to further prosper in their lives,” Goh says.

Want to learn how to grow your business in a safe and trusted environment? Kuncie provides entrepreneurs with a platform for personalized lesson plans and guidance from mentors.

Download Kuncie here.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.