Instellar Indonesia and GSMA Mobile Innovation Hub Support 10 Indonesian Startups to Innovate Sustainably Through the Energy Action for Sustainable Transformation (EAST) Program

JAKARTA, 17 March 2023 – Instellar Indonesia and GSMA are holding the GSMA Mobile Innovation Hub: Energy Action for Sustainable Transformation (GSMA MIH EAST) program. This collaboration 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).

The GSMA MIH EAST program targets a number of Indonesian startups in eastern Indonesia to participate in a series of incubation programs (online and offline) from February 2023 to April 2023.

CEO of Instellar Indonesia, Romy Cahyadi explained that “to address global climate challenges by supporting concrete programs that utilize digital innovation to address climate impacts, the GSMA MIH EAST program is a good example of how capacity building for startups engaged in clean energy is very important.”

Ecosystem Coordinator and ICT Utilization, Bappenas, Andianto Haryoko added that the MIH EAST program was held as part of the Bappenas and GIZ grant collaboration related to digital transformation which is one of the national priority programs. “Activities that are taking place in the MIH EAST program will be an input for the preparation of national development planning policies and strategies related to digital transformation in the upcoming 2025-2045 RPJPN and 2025-2029 RPJMN.”

GSMA MIH EAST has selected 10 startups to participate in the incubation activities in Bali on March 12-16 2023, they are Azura Indonesia, Biojel, Catalyzon, Cells, Crustea, Gawirea, e-kanaXin, Kuantek, Water Coin and Rubboto. Startup founders are equipped with training and mentoring revolving around scaling up programs, such as a go-to-market strategy, a sustainability roadmap, and a pitch deck with a strong value proposition for the wider community.

Through this offline incubation activity, the 3 best startups in the MIH EAST program have also been announced, which are Azura Indonesia, Crustea, and Rubboto. They were selected based on various assessments throughout the program, starting from program gamification to their active participation in strategic workshops and other incubation activities.

All three startups won prizes in the form of a free website from MakeWebEasy, a free waiver worth of US$10,000 from Xendit, and Hot Seat Pitch tickets with investors namely 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.