Arise Fund is Released to Invest in Early Stage Startups

A venture capital company under Telkom, MDI Ventures, together with Finch Capital released an Arise Fund to roll out investments in Indonesian startups with a focus on early-stage funding. This is because Indonesia is very potential for startups to grow.

“MDI Ventures sees and understands this potential so that collaboration with global partners such as Finch Capital can encourage investment for startup development,” said Telkom President Director Ririek Adriansyah in a written statement.

This step, said Ririek, is a form of Telkom’s commitment to creating a sustainable digital technology ecosystem to strengthen Indonesia’s digital economy and build a modern BUMN sector. Ririek said the Arise Fund was built to empower a new generation of startup founders, especially those who appear during a crisis like today.

With a target asset under management of USD 40 million or around IDR 540 billion, the Arise Fund will help Pre-series A startup not only in terms of funding, but also provides a clear path for startups to validate, grow, develop, and reach “exit”.

“Arise Fund directly assists in matching startup products to the market making it easier for them to find the most effective market entry strategy,” said Aldi Adrian Hartanto from MDI, as General Partner for Arise.

Unlike Other Early-Stage Investors

Aldi said the Arise Fund has a number of differences from other early-stage investors in Indonesia. “There are variety of guidelines to facilitate this process, which can be applied and adapted to different technology ecosystems, both in Europe, Asia and in Silicon Valley – the market areas where MDI Ventures and Finch Capital are actively investing,” said Aldi continued.

In the early stages, startups can join the Indigo Nation incubator which is also under Telkom to find a sustainable business model. Arise Fund will then play a role in supporting the startup’s journey in the next phase.

In this case, MDI Ventures will help connect the startup with various businesses managed by Telkom and other state-owned companies, while Finch Capital will do the same with the list of blue-chip corporate partners they manage.

In the future, the startup is expected to receive investment from the Centauri Fund in the series A stage, then through MDI Ventures in series B and thereafter, until it finally succeeds through the acquisition process or on the first floor on the stock exchange.

Signing Ceremony as a Sign Arise Fund’s Launching

The launch of the Arise Fund was marked by a signing ceremony between Arise’s General Partners namely Aldi Adrian Hartanto from MDI and Hans De Back from Finch Capital, witnessed in person by the Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands to Indonesia Ardi Stoios-Braken, President Director of Telkom Ririek Adriansyah, Director of Telkom Strategic Portfolio Budi Setyawan Wijaya, and CEO of MDI Ventures Donald Wihardja in Jakarta (26/11).

Also attending to watch via video conference the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Mahendra Siregar. Deputy Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Ardi Stoios-Braken congratulated the launch of the Arise Fund as a result of the collaboration between Indonesian and Dutch-owned investment companies and experience in supporting the development of startups in their respective markets.

Braken believes that in the future, there will be other opportunities for cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands, such as the Arise Fund. Likewise, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mahendra Siregar, through a CloudX video conference welcomed the presence of the Arise Fund, amidst the efforts of technology and digital transformation echoed by the Government, to strengthen Indonesia’s digital economy.

President Director of Telkom, Ririek Adriansyah, said that Indonesia is a country that has great potential for startups. Arise Fund was established to empower a new generation of startup founders, especially those who emerged during the economic crisis that hit this year.