Indonesia gov’t accelerator picks 15 startups for latest cohort

The Indonesian government has selected 15 startups to be part of its accelerator program, Startup Studio Indonesia, to help the companies find a product-market fit and scale their businesses.

Photo credit: Startup Studio Indonesia

Startup Studio Indonesia aims to incubate 150 digital startups by 2024 and scale their business in terms of the number of users, total revenue, employment rate, and funding from venture capital firms.

The selected startups will participate in a founders camp, which comprises coaching sessions with industry experts to discuss practical issues and the skills entrepreneurs need to grow their firms. For four months, founders will also get one-on-one coaching on how to achieve product-market fit.

Participants will be trained by facilitators like Moses Lo, co-founder of Xendit; Christopher Madiam, co-founder of Sociolla; Fajar A. Budiprasetyo, co-founder of HappyFresh; Suwandi Soh, CEO of Mekari; and Hiro Kiga, co-founder of Wallex.

“The [coaching] session will focus on improving products, business models, and user loyalty or retention before entering the market expansion stage. We believe that this resource will prepare them to face market uncertainties,” said Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, director general of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Launched in 2020, Startup Studio Indonesia has produced 35 early-stage startups to date, including Justika, Verihubs, Feedloop, Woobiz, LingoTalk, Sribuu (formerly Alia), Prieds, and Wehelpyou.

Startup Studio Indonesia’s programs will conclude at the end of the year with a “milestone day,” where partipants will have the opportunity to present their business models to industry stakeholders.

Here is the list of the startups in the program:

• AturKuliner uses integrated industry-specific supply chain management solutions to help micro, small, and medium enterprises in the food and beverage (F&B) industry take control of their food costs.
• AyoBlajar, an edtech startup that focuses on providing interactive learning through live classes for K12 students across Indonesia.
• Bicarakan.id, a mental health company that provides online counseling to Indonesians through phone calls or video chat.
• Bolu helps online sellers grow sales through a set of courses. Since 2018, the company has helped over 50,000 users learn how to leverage social media and scale their online businesses. 
• Eateroo, a social commerce platform that helps users discover lifestyle and F&B brands through user-generated content.
• Finku, a fintech firm that helps Indonesians manage their finances via a platform that tracks users’ financial transactions.
• FishLog aims to build the biggest business-to-business fisheries cold-chain network in Indonesia.
• Gajiku (Sampradaa) offers early-wage access to enterprise employees. It works with employers to give workers access to money they have already earned in a month without having to wait for their regular payroll check or a direct deposit. 
• Imajin, a marketplace for manufacturers in Indonesia that helps companies from building their designs to going into mass production. 
• Keyta, a conversational commerce tool that helps social commerce sellers increase the productivity of their business operations through an all-in-one keyboard application.  
• KreatifHub connects consumers and businesses with freelancers in Indonesia’s creative industry through its marketplace.
• Powerbrain, an energy management company that uses the internet of things and automation technology to optimize energy consumption in a building.
• Sgara is a data-driven farm advisory and marketplace solution for shrimp farmers.
• Soul Parking offers firms parking management services.
• Zi.Care provides healthcare system solutions that enable hospitals to digitalize their services.