Indonesia President Jokowi announced Merah Putih Fund
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, has announced the launch of the Merah Putih Fund, targeting soon-to-be unicorns (or soonicorns) with predetermined criteria.
According to his announcement, to be eligible for the funding, startups must be founded by Indonesian nationals, operate in the homeland, have plans to go public domestically, pay taxes, and have a proven track record of fundraising with a valuation of above US$200 million.
Merah Putih Fund is backed by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and slated to raise around US$300 (IDR 4.26 trillion) in H1 2022. Some of its initial investors are Mandiri Capital, BRI Ventures, MDI Ventures, and Telkom Mitra Inovasi.
Also read: The 27 Indonesian startups that have taken the ecosystem to next level this year
The president also invited other national private sectors to join the Merah Putih Fund.
At the inauguration ceremony of Merah Putih Fund, Jokowi said that Indonesia currently has 2,319 startups, one decacorn (a startup valued at more than US$10 billion), and seven unicorns (startups valued at US$1 billion).
“Without funding, they [soonicorns] could lose that potential,” said SOE Minister Erick Thohir at the “Digital Generation Acceleration” event. He is one of the initiators of the fund.
As of September last year, 52 local startups successfully raised a total of US$1.9 billion, according to the Indonesian Venture Capital and Startup Association (Amvesindo). GudangAda, Kopi Kenangan, SiCepat, Social Bella, Ruangguru, and 20 more are estimated to be “soonunicorn” of the archipelago.
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