3 Indonesian Startups Crowned Best in Energy Action for Sustainable Transformation (EAST) Program Incubation Series, To Receive 1-on-1 Consultation from Instellar Impact Advisory

JAKARTA, 5 April 2023– The GSMA Mobile Innovation Hub: Energy Action for Sustainable Transformation (MIH EAST) program has successfully held a series of online and offline programs with its peak on March 12-16 2023 in Bali.

GSMA MIH EAST or GSMA Mobile Innovation Hub: Energy Action for Sustainable Transformation itself is a startup incubation program held by Instellar Indonesia and GSMA. This cooperation is carried out through the GSMA Mobile Innovation Hub, created in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

GSMA MIH EAST has previously selected 10 startups to take part in incubation activities in Bali on 12-16 March 2023, they are Azura Indonesia, Biojel, Catalyzon, Cells, Crustea, Gawirea, e-kanaXin, Kuantek, Water Coin and Rubboto. In this online and offline incubation program, the 3 best startups in the MIH EAST program have also been announced, namely Azura Indonesia, Crustea, and Rubboto. They were selected based on various assessments throughout the program, starting from program gamification, startup activity while participating in strategic workshops and other incubation activities.

Azura Indonesia focuses on green technology for fishermen. Azura Indonesia presents Manta One, a green electric propulsion for small boats powered by Li-Ion batteries which can reduce carbon emissions by up to 100%. Azura Indonesia is working on producing digital solutions to reach the fishing industry and fishermen more broadly.

Meanwhile, Crustea focuses on developing aerators for shrimp farmers and renewable energy systems in the aquaculture sector. Crustea develops environmentally friendly aerators with smart IoT technology and renewable energy systems that can increase pond productivity and reduce operational costs by up to 80%.

Rubboto focuses on providing IoT-based green hardware and software for agriculture and plantations, especially rubber plantations. Ruboto helps ease the workload of rubber farmers by using IoT-based technology to find out which rubber latex containers can be harvested automatically and their locations.

The three won prizes in the form of a free website from MakeWebEasy, a free waiver worth US$10,000 from Xendit, and Hot Seat Pitch tickets with investors such as Andri Lau, from Investment Associate Insignia Ventures, Dinda Hervi Founder Impactura, Eric Natanael, Member of Supervisory Board Indonesia Impact Alliance, and Lavinia Iosub, Managing Partner of Livit International & Co-founder of Livit Hub Bali.

In the Hot Seat Pitch session, the 3 best start-ups meet with investors specifically and get 5 minutes for pitching and 20 minutes for deeper discussions with investors. “We were able to get insight on how to make a better pitch deck, as well as identifying the appetite of each investor through the questions asked,” said Nadea Nabilla Puteri, CEO of Azura Indonesia.

“The Hot Seat Pitch session provides insight on how we can pursue market segments that are suitable for us and branding our business,” added Deluca, CEO of Rubboto.

Talking about the response to the MIH EAST program as a whole, Roikhanatun Nafi’ah, CEO of Crustea explained that MIH EAST instills the importance of collaboration between start-ups and agencies. “So instead of competing with each other, we are encouraged to collaborate to make business and impact even better.”

The best startups have been provided with assistance and capacity building programs in terms of go-to-market strategy, sustainability, roadmap and pitch deck with a strong value proposition for the wider community. Finally, they and 7 other startups participating in the MIH EAST program will take part in the post-incubation program through 1-on-1 consultation with Instellar Impact Advisory.

CEO of Instellar Indonesia, Romy Cahyadi explained that “1-on-1 consultation is a post-incubation stage. The consultation in the post-incubation session aims to make start-ups more prepared and mature to achieve their goals both in terms of business and impact. Like the incubation session, the consultation will be tailored according to the needs of each start-up. Mentoring discussions will be tailored to the needs of each start-up and what they want to achieve.”