Indosat Ooredoo, Mountain Partners and Kejora form Ideabox Ventures

The Launched of ideabox Ventures(dok)

JAKARTA (IndoTelko) – In the three years since its launch in October 2013, ideabox became one of the top technology accelerators in Indonesia.

For the past three years, Indosat Ooredoo, Mountain Partners and Kejora have partnered running ideabox and executed seed investments in 15 successful start-ups. The three partners are now coming together to take their cooperation to the next level with the creation of ‘ideabox Ventures’ – a joint venture, which will move beyond seed funding to make investments of up to USD 500,000.

Ideabox Ventures will invest in early-stage or pre-Series A technology companies with proven traction in Indonesia – particularly in e-commerce & web services, digital payments & fintech, and technology & security. Ideabox Ventures will provide funding of up to USD 500,000 through a venture capital fund as well as strategic and commercial advisory and other support, to help companies grow their portfolio and further expand in the region. The support from ideabox Ventures goes beyond the four-month period of the existing ideabox acceleration program.

“We are moving ahead with our commitment to building Indonesia's digital industry. Our three years of investing in Indonesia-focused start-ups through ideabox showed us that there is a gap in the Indonesian VC scene – a lot of start-ups struggle to find sources for post-seed funding. ideabox Ventures will fill this gap and allow us to help build start-ups into viable businesses. Now, we can help start-ups at different stages of their growth and our support goes beyond financial investment – it covers go-to-market support and helps them scale up their business in the region. We look forward to taking our relationship with Mountain Partners – a globally operating company builder with track record of building and financing more than 200 technology and internet companies – to the next stage.” said Alexander Rusli, CEO and President Director Indosat.

Dr. Cornelius Boersch, Founder and Executive Chairman at Mountain Partners is excited about the new joint venture: “Indonesia is an important country in Mountain Partners’ expansion strategy and our central pillar in Southeast Asia. We have successfully built companies in Indonesia’s high-growth market for the last years, having our central hub for Southeast Asia in Jakarta. With Indosat Ooredoo, we have built 15 companies over the last three years and, pursuant to these previous successes, we are confident and proud to now foster our partnership in this new joint venture. We look forward to combining our strengths to continue our successful partnership investing into the Indonesian digital ecosystem and contributing to Mountain Partners’ vision of making great technologies available to people all around the world.”

"Taking the path of entrepreneurship is a tough decision. That is why Ideabox believes in and creates synergy amongst the tech startup ecosystem to reduce the risks for the entrepreneur. Through our combined knowledge and network, we are confident to help the our startups reduce technology, market, business model or execution risks. Imagine what can a startup do if they gain access to 70 million users right away, which is possible through Ideabox," said Andy Zain of Kejora.

At the launch of ideabox Ventures, ideabox also announced the fourth round of the ideabox accelerator program. During the program, ideabox will shortlist start-ups from around the country to receive initial funding of up to USD 50,000.

These selected teams will incubate their business models over 120 days in Slipi, Jakarta with hands-on support and mentoring from Indosat Ooredoo, Mountain Partners and Kejora. Furthermore, start-ups will have the opportunity to quickly scale up operations through a commercial partnership with Indosat Ooredoo.

Along with the 120-day program, the companies will be provided dedicated facilities, full-time mentoring, a structured curriculum and access to one of the biggest networks of local, regional and global mentors in Indonesia, as well as access to investors.(es)