Jakarta, 26 June 2023 – As part of its commitment to accelerating the growth of blue sector in Indonesia, the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum organized an event where start-ups and innovators in this sector can meet with the potential investors. The event was called “Matchmaking Sustainable Solutions: Bringing Investors and Bluepreneurs Together,” and was part of AIS Blue Innovative Solutions, an accelerator program developed by the Forum to boost entrepreneurial growth and provide opportunities for innovators from blue sector to seek and secure funding from potential investors in the blue economy sector in Indonesia.
As the largest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia’s blue economy sector has a great potential, most notably on the industries ranging from fisheries, renewable energy, tourism, water transportation, waste management, to climate change mitigation. As per the data from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN), this sector could directly impact on the advancement of economic values and livelihoods, especially towards the coastal communities and the opportunities in various marine-related industries.
Attended by officials from various ministries, state-agencies, State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), investors/financial institutions, business incubators/accelerators, and wide range of startups in Indonesia, the event was directed to be the pool for blue innovators to meet potential investors and maximize cooperation in promoting sustainable development and economic growth, more specifically in the blue economy.
The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, also attended the event. In his remarks, he emphasized several things related to how inter-agency cooperation can enhance blue economic growth and maximize the potential within it.
“This event shared an important role for us, blue sector players to create opportunities and contribute directly to creating prosperity and better livelihoods for coastal communities. I appeal to the corporate leaders, philanthropists, startups, ministries/agencies, to be actively involved building strategic cooperation opportunities at the regional and global levels through the AIS Forum,” he said.
Commitment of Cooperation from Three Entities
The event kicked off with a commitment of cooperation delivered by several entities that have been and will continue working with the AIs Forum in the advancement of the blue economy sector in Indonesia and other AIS countries. During the session, two entities took turns address their statements of commitment to cooperate with the AIS Forum. Among them were Lazada Indonesia, the Indonesian Agency for International Development Fund (Indonesia AID), and one startup Azura Indonesia, that conveyed AIS Forum’s support for startups in the blue sector.
This representatives from each entities were Ferry Kusnowo, Executive Director of Lazada Indonesia, Tormarbulang Lumbantobing, Director of Indonesian AID, and Nadea Nabila, Founder & CEO of Azura Indonesia. This session was held to encourage commitment to the growth of the blue sector in Indonesia through concrete actions.
Kusnowo in his pledge underlined the collaborative actions between Lazada Indonesia and the AIS forum that have been, are, and will continue to run as a form of Lazada Indonesia’s commitment to environmental safety, more specifically the marine environment and its surroundings. Meanwhile Tormarbulang Lumbantobing from Indonesian AID expressed his openness to project funding opportunities in the blue sector through the AIS Forum collaboration, and that Indonesian AID will fully provide support for efforts to advance the blue economy sector in island and archipelago countries.
Acknowledging the spirit of this collaboration, Nadea Nabila gave testimony on how the collaboration with AIS Forum has helped Azura Indonesia to accelerate the concrete actions that have been carried out, one of which is by opening opportunities in the Pacific region. One of them is Fiji, where Azura Indonesia had the opportunity to introduce their innovation, MantaOne to the local community on Bau Island while simultaneously providing training on how to navigate this environmentally friendly and economical electric boat engine.
Ten Blue Innovation Start-Ups Introduced Their Works in Pitching Sessions
Topping the Business Matchmaking event was a pitching session from ten start-ups, where their works and innovations were in line with four focus areas of the AIS Forum, namely Mitigation and Adaptation, Climate Change, Blue Economy, Marine Plastic Waste Management, and Good Maritime Governance.
A total of ten (10) innovators attended and presented their innovations and work. They were Alner, Azura Indonesia, ARHEA, MonMang, Container, Cycles, Get Plastic, Banoo, Waterhub, and Bioniqa. Sequentially, they presented their startups in front of investors and other stakeholders, in hoping that there will be further arrangement should there be any interested investors to fund their projects.
Through this Business Matchmaking Solutions, the AIS Forum through the AIS Blue Hub has been proactively encouraging startups to continue to develop their creations and innovations and helped to connect these developers with potential funders. At the same time, the AIS Forum provided space for investors and other stakeholders who wish to support the growth of the blue sector in Indonesia. This will then increase multi-stakeholder exposure and was expected to be a catalyst for increasing the quality and potential resources of business and the economy in the blue sector in Indonesia. More importantly, by matchmaking startups with potential investors, the government sector, the private sector, philanthropy, and business ecosystem incubators, it can open up great opportunities for collaboration and connection among blue sector entrepreneurs.
Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum was established with the aim of creating concrete collaboration and development in island and island nations spread across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. This forum has been an open platform for addressing global issues since 2018 and will continue to expand concrete action in its country members globally (*).
Media Contact:
Thomas Benmetan, Head of Marketing and Communication, AIS Forum Secretariat (thomas.benmetan@undp.org)
