On the 27th of August 2021, 24 impact-oriented, women-led startups pitched online to the Indonesia Women Empowerment Fund (IWEF) and other impact investors and ecosystem partners in Indonesia and abroad as part of “SheDisrupts Indonesia 2021” program.
On the 27th of August 2021, 24 impact-oriented, women-led startups pitched online to the Indonesia Women Empowerment Fund (IWEF) and other impact investors and ecosystem partners in Indonesia and abroad as part of “SheDisrupts Indonesia 2021” program.
“As an impact fund, IWEF invests in women-led startups that through disruptive tech solutions are improving livelihoods for women across Indonesia. SheDisrupts supports this goal and is showcasing some of the leading and emerging women entrepreneurs and their teams, who are breaking down barriers and driving change in Indonesia,” said the joint managers of IWEF, Stella Tambunan – CEO of YCAB Ventures, and Tom Schmittzehe – Managing Partner of Moonshot Ventures.
The program was initiated by IWEF and Creatella Impact, in partnership with Investing in Women, UNDP, UN Women and Citibank, to empower Indonesian women entrepreneurs to build and scale innovative and tech-driven business solutions to complex social and environmental issues in Indonesia.
“Creatella impact identifies promising social enterprises, and provides a range of services to strengthen their business model and presence, and increase chances of access to funding. We do this by applying the world best practices, but also, continuously learning together in this dynamically shifting industry,” said Nozomi Witherspoon, the Board Director and Treasurer of Creatella Impact.
The venture competition was launched in June 2021. From all the applications, 50 startups were selected for a round of 1:1 mentorship with 57 experienced impact investors, entrepreneurs and advisors from around the world.
“We are pleased to note this robust public private partnership between IWEF, Creatella Impact, UNDP, UN Women, DFAT and Citi in organizing SheDisrupts Indonesia with a holistic approach in empowering women founders to run profitable businesses while making measurable, long term positive social and environmental impact in Indonesia. We believe this is in line with our current development priorities” said Lenny N. Rosalin, SE, M.Sc, M.Fin, Deputy of Gender Equality, Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Republic of Indonesia.
“She Disrupts Indonesia aligns with Australia’s vision and efforts towards inclusive and equitable economies by enhancing the capability of women-owned and women-led businesses to grow and create a greater positive social and environmental impact”, said Mr. Alex Street, Political Economy and Investment Counsellor, Australian Embassy Jakarta.
24 promising startups were selected from this shortlisted pool of 50, and were invited to join the 2-week pre-acceleration.
“I would like to extend my deepest congratulations for all 24 ventures present today. I hope that this initiative serves as a platform to inspire and encourage you all to share innovative ideas and help work through these difficult times. It has been extraordinary to see the exceptional support delivered especially given that we are now in the decade of action as we work towards the SDGs,” said Sophie Kemkhadze, Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP Indonesia.
The curriculum of the pre-acceleration included lectures, workshops, group work and 1-on-1 mentoring on business, technology and impact-related topics, with a strong focus on gender issues and women empowerment.
“We are proud to be part of the mentoring team for the founders, to witness that these talented and mission-driven women founders are not only more conversant on gender equality but also empowered to bring changes to the industry, creating an impact on women’s empowerment. We hope that more acceleration programs in Indonesia will adopt a similar gender-responsive approach to fully unlock women’s potential in the tech and digital economy sectors,” said Jamshed Kazi, UN Women Indonesia’s Representative and Liaison to ASEAN.
The 2-week pre-acceleration program concluded on Friday, the 27th August with a public virtual demo day, which was attended by 150 investors, mentors, and partners.
“As a Bank, we are driven by Diversity & Inclusion goals, and we believe that it is important to incorporate and measure gender diversity targets. Furthermore, we are seeing that finance communities are eager to support these initiatives, and we are already seeing the most ambitious companies linking their financing directly to gender and diversity-related metrics. These efforts should be further replicated in other sectors, not to mention in the startups world,” said Batara Sianturi, CEO of Citi Indonesia.
Brief descriptions about pitching startups are below and the details can be found in the website here: https://shedisruptsindonesia2021.pory.app/
Anjani
Anjani curates eco-friendly products manufactured by small-scale women-led/community businesses across Indonesia.
ArkaLearn
ArkaLearn works toward efficient education and training of Indonesian Migrant Workers, using digital learning platforms to help migrants develop skills.
Bintang Kecil
Bintang Kecil helps parents of 89 million children from middle to lower-income groups to access the best “edutainment” for their children, fulfilling the need for non-formal education and stimulating character growth.
Career.Support
Career.Support is an end-to-end digital platform for schools, students and companies to help recent grads and interns across Indonesia to get access to national job opportunities.
Dewisri Farm Tech
Dewisri helps Indonesian horticulture farm owners to manage their field resources sustainably through more efficient use of resources and lower chemical intake.
GenPeace
GenPeace is an integrated web-based learning platform which enables schools to create innovative learning environments and empowers educators to sustainably reinvent the way they teach.
Greenie Indonesia
Greenie’s Areca-based furniture helps Indonesian Millennials who want to have ready-to-assemble furniture which is minimalist, functional, and customizable while also reducing logging activities, increasing environmental awareness, and promoting responsible consumption.
Hear Me
Hear Me is a social startup that provides the first Indonesian sign language translator in 3D animation display, fostering an inclusive ecosystem and equal rights for people with disabilities.
Hilmasta
Hilmasta is a one-stop digital marketing integration, consisting of three major services: Social Media Management (SMM), Online Shop Optimization (OSO) and Creative Content Creation (CCC).
Liberty Society
Liberty Society produces, distributes and sells apparels, accessories and gift sets that are eco-friendly and impactful by creating collections with established brands using zero waste solutions.
Perfect Fit
PerfectFit creates sustainable menstrual products and offers education on women’s health, body, and rights.
Plépah
Plépah transforms the Areca Palm leaf sheath into food packaging and plates, as a substitute for non-biodegradable packaging in order to alleviate future environmental burden through excessive non-perishable waste.
remparempa
remparempa helps customers who want to maintain their health and immunity by offering Indonesian artisan jamu beverages in a unique, hassle free format.
Rentique
Rentique is Indonesia’s favorite destination to rent or buy more than 5000 apparel collections from 200+ local & international designers, all over Indonesia.
Rubysh
Rubysh designs and creates fashion accessories from waste materials amidst the increasing trend of eco/slow fashion.
Senormal
Senormal creates and delivers refillable cleaning effervescent tablets that require no plastic bottles.
SIAB Indonesia
SIAB is a IoT water management system consisting of integrated hardware and software that monitors water quality, manages water distribution, and provides automatic water filtration.
Studio Kode
Studio Kode offers Tech-Ed programs, extending beyond coding and programming, with the purpose of empowering Indonesian children with critical creative skills to solve global issues.
Suarise
Suarise an end-to-end social enterprise which enables people with disabilities, namely those who are visually impaired, with better access to the digital sector.
Talent Growth
Talent Growth is an all-in-one website that combines hiring and virtual learning with the mission of closing the skill gap between graduates and employers.
Techroka
Techrocka develops a mobile cooling box powered by solar energy that aims to improve the cold chain of fish and perishable foods for micro and small-medium enterprises.
The Self Hug
The Self Hug is a physical well-being journal and guide that prompts simple daily routines for continuous personal growth and productivity.
Wilov
Wilov is a free menstrual tracker app with holistic & personalised health services made by women for women.
Yumn Healthy Eats
Yumn Healthy Eats is an online personalized nutrition coaching program specifically focused on helping people living with hypertension, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome reach their treatment target.
Henny Wahyuni, founder of Arkalearn shared that she had an exciting and fun experience despite the tight schedule of the programme. She added that she met many inspiring Founders and Mentors that gave her direct and honest feedback, which she felt is essential to help her learn and grow as an entrepreneur. Henny hopes “to do what you love and love what you do, but most importantly do something meaningful that creates a positive impact.”
“SheDisrupts 2021 have been the most intense weeks for me. The courses were detailed and practical at the same time. The mentors and the speakers were very supportive. I signed up for the program, because I want to learn from the practitioners and apply it to my business. What I get is far more personalised feedback and encouragement from the mentors and the team. The sharing sessions from female entrepreneurs are very interactive and I am grateful for the enlightening experience. Thank you to all the people behind SheDisrupts. My team and I are more confident to embrace the next step in our journey.” – Atiek Fadhilah, founder of Teroka.
Susli Lie joined SheDisrupts 2021 as a panelist. In her keynote, Susli, a Venture Partner at Monk’s Hill Ventures and a Y Combinator founder, shared about investment readiness. “As a founder turned VC investor, I have seen a growing number of talented founders from Indonesia, many of them women. I’m supportive of platforms, such as SheDisrupts, to help female founders gain exposure and grow their network of peers, mentors, and investors, which can often be difficult to access. The complexity of issues facing Indonesia requires a diverse set of solutions from a diverse set of founders, and the contribution of female founders will prove invaluable as the tech ecosystem scales.”
About SheDisrupts Indonesia 2021:
Women-led MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) are the backbone of the Indonesian economy. According to estimates by the Indonesian Ministry of Enterprise, 1 in 2 small businesses and 1 in 3 medium businesses are led by a woman. Unfortunately, Indonesian women-owned businesses face many barriers to growth, most prominently reduced access to investment opportunities.
SheDisrupts Indonesia 2021 not only provides talented women-led teams with pitch training and mentoring, but also offers the opportunity to secure funds from local and international impact investors. The Indonesia-focused programme is the first edition of SheDisrupts, and will be replicated for women social entrepreneurs in other high-potential emerging markets.
