Hundreds of Startups from All Over Indonesia Compete at HighPitch 2020

The 2020 HighPitch national startup competition managed to gather as many as 386 participants from all over Indonesia. The competition organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) together with UMG IdeaLab and ALTIRA will culminate in 10 participants receiving the Exclusive Investment Readiness program which will be given by senior partners and experts in the fields of business and finance.

Director of Access to Finance of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy / Baparekraf Hanifah Makarim explained that the startup company participants who have registered are divided into five regions. He sees high enthusiasm as the work of the creative economy in society even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before the closing of registration on November 3, 2020, Hanifah called for more Indonesian startups and SMEs to register. Those who feel that they have a high potential for growth and have a positive impact on society can access sources of capital with a venture capital company that is involved as a judge in the competition.

“Although the participants who register are still dominated by Java, we invite startups outside Java to get the opportunity to meet funding sources,” said Hanifah in a written statement.

Apart from Funding, Startups will also Get Other Benefits

Hanifah reminded that participants who wanted to register had to apply a system or technology in their business model. There are also 25 industrial sectors defined as competition criteria and requirements.

Founder of UMG IdeaLab Kiwi Aliwarga also said that startups in this competition will not only get access to funding sources, but also open opportunities to expand their networks including their ideas.

“Accessing funding sources as a form of reciprocal and sustainable collaboration is an important aspect in this industry, but another benefit is the opportunity to expand networks including knowledge sharing,” said Kiwi.

ALTIRA CEO Adriani Onie appreciated the enthusiasm and ambition of the startup founders and Indonesian SMEs who registered in this competition. The hope is that the HighPitch competition will be a momentum to help Indonesia towards economic improvement in 2021.

As a jury, this event is also supported by 50 Venture Capitals who are actively investing in a number of Indonesian startups. They are East Ventures (Ruangguru, Tokopedia, Warung Pintar), Monk’s Hill Ventures (Glints, Kulina), Alpha JWC (Kopi Kenangan, Kredivo), and MDI Ventures (Genie, Whispr, Kata.ai).

Also supporting this competition program as partners are Amazon Web Services, Compasslist, GK-Plug and Play, Shinhan Future’s Lab Indonesia, and the Indonesian Venture Capital Association for Startups (Amvesindo).

The competition has entered the curation process for the top 50 from five regions (each region 10 startups) then they will pitch to the panel of judges on 9-13 November. The five regions are Medan, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Denpasar and Makassar.

The Judging Process is in Progress

The next step for judging and selection is that as many as 10 selected startups will be invited to their respective regions for presentations in front of a panel of judges consisting of VCs / investors. The panel of judges will then select two startups from each region to become finalists at the national level and this will be announced on 15 November.

The Top 10 startups are then entitled to participate in the Immersive Bootcamp & Final Pitching (16-20 November) and the Exclusive Investment Readiness Program (23 – 27 November), as well as various rewards. All of them aim to prepare startups for attractive finalists in the eyes of investors.

On the other hand, the Venture Capital Association for Indonesian Startups (Amvesindo) revealed that Indonesian startups are still getting funding amid the pandemic, but the numbers have indeed decreased.

However, this is not due to decreased interest, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Amvesindo noted that startup funding in Indonesia as of the third quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020) reached USD 1.9 billion. The funds flowed to 52 startups.