Indonesian Startup Amazes Venture Capital from Australia

Indonesia is the country with the fifth-largest number of startups in the world, with more than 2,200 start-ups, including four unicorns and one decacorn.

Although the pandemic is still rolling in the country, venture capital investment (VC) into the Indonesian startup sector is still high enough to attract the attention of investors from various countries such as China, Singapore, the United States, and Japan.

In recent years, VCs from Australia have also begun to show interest in the Indonesian startup sector. This is in line with the long history of trade relations and inter-people relations between the two countries.

Xendit, a payment gateway company from Indonesia, which recently held a virtual Speed ​​Dating event, bringing together 50 technology startups from Indonesia and 7 venture capital companies from Australia.

The event, titled ‘360 Lightning Speed ​​Australia-Indonesia Startup Virtual Speed ​​Dating’, was held for eight days, supported by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and the Alumni Grant Scheme (AGS), which is managed by Australia Awards in Indonesia.

This event begins with an individual consultation session held from August 18 to 20, 2021. At this stage consultants from consulting firm PrepareLabs provide input and constructive criticism for the pitch decks of each startup.

In the speed dating session which will be held afterward on August 23-27 2021, each startup is given 10 minutes to present their business plan in front of potential investors.

Luthfi Juharta, Business Development Experiment & Partnership at Xendit, said that this event aims to introduce the technology startup ecosystem in Indonesia to the VC ecosystem in Australia in the hope of establishing a stronger relationship between the two.

VC Comments in Australia

Daniel Veytsblit, Investment Director of Investible, one of the venture capital companies from Australia that participated in this ‘speed dating’ event, said that he was very impressed by the quality of the Indonesian startups participating in the event and welcomed the opportunity to have further discussions with them. soon.

“The determination and talent of the fast-growing startup sector in Indonesia was really shown at this event. The startups participating in this event presented excellent business presentations, and we hope to be able to talk to them further as they go along. the wider reach of Investible in Southeast Asia,” he said.

He considered that most of the presentations presented gave a clear picture of the company’s vision and mission, including telling how the founders could provide solutions to problems; and this is not an easy thing to do in just 5 to 7 minutes.

Other Australian VCs participating in the event were Artesian, Investible, Hemisphere, Airtree Ventures, Arkblu Capital, and Haymarket HQ. This event was also supported by 20 community partners, namely Kumpul, Apiary, Connext, CoHive, and many others.

A Collection of 50 Indonesian Startups Who Follow Fast Dating

Austrade’s commissioner for trade and investment in Indonesia, Hannah Wade, said that his party wanted to provide opportunities for companies in Indonesia and Australia to grow together for a better future.

“We hope this event can be a start for all of you to start a discussion, not only related to investment but also about how we can bring together the innovation and creative sectors of Indonesia and Australia. Maybe your meeting today can spark new ideas and create relationships new,” he said.

The 360 ​​Lightning Speed ​​’speed dating’ event is funded entirely by the Australian government through the Alumni Grant Scheme managed by Australia Awards in Indonesia.

AGS has financed and supported more than 230 Australian school alumni projects in Indonesia that benefit the wider community.

The 50 tech startups seeking investment through ‘speed dating’ include aquaculture startup ALGA Aquatech, goods rental marketplace CUMI, earned wage access (EWA) platform PaidbaQ, financial planning and consulting platform Halofina, and energy management application Leatric.