Magalarva and Tridi Oasis emerge as finalists for Startup Arena Pitch Battle 2021

Last week, Tech in Asia held the Indonesia semifinals of Startup Arena Pitch Battle 2021 in partnership with venture capital firm East Ventures.

Six startups presented their pitches in front of more than 2,000 viewers and a panel of three investor-judges: Melisa Irene, partner at East Ventures; Erline Diani, senior vice president head of Digibank Business Growth at Bank DBS Indonesia; and Ongki Saputra, vice president for business operations and the chief operations officer’s office at Traveloka.

The startups were each given five minutes to make their best pitches and another five minutes to answer questions. They were judged on the clarity of their ideas and business models, as well as how worthy of investment they are.

Magalarva, a sustainable protein producer, presented the winning pitch, bagging a one-week trial to App Annie Intelligence Lite and a US$2,500 cash prize sponsored by DBS Bank. Tridi Oasis, a plastic waste management company, was the runner-up. All the semifinalists also earned attractive prizes from DBS, Google Cloud, and Fore Coffee.

Here’s an overview of the six startups that pitched during the Indonesia semifinals.

Rekosistem

Indonesia’s waste management industry is huge: Over 3 million Indonesians make a living in the sector. However, the working conditions are unhealthy and dangerous. Despite the size of the industry, sanitation workers can earn less than US$100 each month, which is due, in part, to the lack of importance that society gives to the handling of trash.

Rekosistem aims to solve these problems through a circular economy platform and by leveraging machine learning to add value to the waste management chain. The company captures information about garbage until it is recycled into new, usable products. This, in turn, eases and improves the recycling process.

Siklus

Plastic packaging makes up a significant portion of how much fast-moving consumer goods cost. These non-biodegradable materials are expensive, inconvenient for consumers, and ultimately harmful to the environment.

Waste management startup Siklus allows users to order refills of everyday goods via its app. These refills come at a discounted price, incentivizing users to reuse old containers and reduce plastic waste.

Moretrash

Waste management has enormous business potential. However, the industry’s current processes are inefficient. People often don’t sort waste and the industrial sector doesn’t have an efficient waste management system, so trash collectors can’t be certain about the quantity and value of the waste they collect.

Enter Moretrash, a smart app that offers digital trash management solutions. It manages the collecting, sorting, and handling of trash. It brings users the benefits of recycling by incentivizing people with cash rewards to sort their trash.

Duitin

In Indonesia, one of the biggest challenges in sorting waste is the limited information on and access to recycling.

Duitin hopes to change that. The startup offers an easy way for everyone to begin recycling and managing their waste. It also incentivises proper waste control with monetary benefits. Pickers who collect the bulk of Indonesia’s waste also benefit from the Duitin app’s enhanced efficiency in making opportunities for recycling more visible to them and optimizing their trash collection route.

Runner-up: Tridi Oasis

Indonesia is the second-largest global contributor to plastic in the ocean. The archipelago’s current waste management systems are not up to handling the large amount of waste the country generates, especially with plastic consumption expected to keep climbing amid the growth in both Indonesia’s population and its economy.

In a bid to address the issue, Tridi Oasis focuses on recycling the plastic used for packaging foods and beverages into a wide-range of high-quality recycled flakes. These can then be transformed into sustainable packaging and textiles, enabling customers to develop products that perform, look and feel better.

Winner: Magalarva

Jakarta produces more than 7,000 tons of waste every day and the city’s landfills are filling up fast as that number grows.

Magalarva’s founders found a solution to that problem: black soldier flies. The insect’s larva is one of the fastest decomposers of organic waste. On top of that, these young insects are rich in nutrients like essential proteins, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, which makes them a solution to another major problem: protein scarcity.

With the help of these flies, Magalarva aims to produce sustainable, high-quality animal feed while also reducing the amount of organic waste that is dumped in landfills all over Indonesia.

Catch the finalists at Tech in Asia Conference 2021

As the winners of the Indonesia semifinals of Startup Arena Pitch Battle 2021, Magalarva and Tridi Oasis will proceed to the finals to be held on October 13 at the Tech in Asia Conference 2021. They will go up against the finalists from the Singaporean and Southeast Asian battles for a chance to win the grand prize of US$10,000 in cash.

Get your tickets to Tech in Asia Conference 2021 to watch the Pitch Battle finalists make one last push to the finish line, partake in insightful sessions, and build your network in the Asian tech and startup scene.

East Ventures is a pioneering sector-agnostic venture capital firm in Indonesia. Founded in 2009, East Ventures has transformed into a holistic platform that provides multi-stage investment, including seed and growth, for over 190 companies in Southeast Asia.

Learn more about East Ventures on its website.

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.