Indonesia gets more positive signs to be Asia’s start-up homebase like Silicon Valley. Many Indonesians start-up had won in some start-up competitions from the local events to the events organized by Silicon Valley, the world’s major start-up and technology center. The latest achievement was given to an Indonesian on-demand laundry start-up Ahlijasa which also offers mobile home cleaning and air-conditioning repair services.
Ahlijasa has won the right to compete with 15 start-ups from around the worls at the 2017 Startup Word Cup championships in Silicon Valley. This achievements was set Ahlijasa to represent Southeast Asia in that event.
The start-up, which in a regional championship beat nine other Southeast Asian start-ups from Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, will have the chance to win US$1 million at the March event, which is organized by Silicon Valley-based Fenox Venture Capital.
Ahlijasa which serves as a connector between dozens of independent laundry services and customers through its website and mobile application, is one of the many emerging tech-based start-ups to have achieved success from offering to ease Indonesians’ daily lives.
We can name mobile-based motorcycle taxi Go-Jek, e-commerce stores Bukalapak and Tokopedia, muslim fashion e-commerce store HijUp and also an online travel service Traveloka, are some examples of former start-ups that have managed to scale up their business as foreign venture capitalists eye growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Anis Uzzaman, CEO of Fenox Venture Capital, which invests multimillion dollar funds in start-ups across the US, Asia, the Middle East and Europe has a vision that Indonesia may become Asia’s Silicon Valley. “I won’t be surprised if within three to five years Indonesia becomes Asia’s Silicon Valley,” said Anis as written by The Jakarta Post.
Indonesian tech-based start-ups are gaining momentum as the middle-income segment flourishes and internet users in the country are expected to double by 2020 from 100 million users at present, the world’s fifth largest figure.
Despite the strong showing of Indonesian start-ups, government support in terms of internet infrastructure and educating consumers is still needed, venture capitalists and start-ups have said.
It is very possible to attract inventors from major foreign venture capitalists such as Sequoia Cpital and Northstar to invested in notable Indonesian start-ups, thereby giving them traction to become larger. The growing interest of foreign venture capital firms in Indonesian start-ups demonstrates the positive climate for local start-ups, despite digital infrastructure and knowledge gaps across the country.
Sumber : The Jakarta Post
Sumber Gambar : 1000warnaindonesia
