The Indonesian government plans to direct three domestic corporate venture capital vehicles to invest in developers of technology that could help state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to digitise their operations, Nikkei reported on Wednesday.
The three in question are MDI Ventures, BRI Ventures and Mandiri Capital Indonesia, which invest on behalf of telecommunications company Telkom Indonesia and financial services firms Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri respectively, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Much of Indonesia’s economy is overseen by large SOEs – including the three companies above – but their size can make modernising practices difficult. The government believes encouraging companies with applicable technologies could ease the process.
The initiative will include companies already in the units’ portfolios, and startups will get the advantage of greater access to large customers through the scheme. There are more than 110 SOEs operating in Indonesia.
One of the sources told Nikkei: “They are the only three SOEs that have a corporate venture capital unit, and in terms of digital savviness, they are ahead of the other SOEs.
“The grand plan is for the three of them [to lead] initiatives, be it collaboration, incubation. The main goal is to help the other less digitally savvy SOEs that have the potential in the digital market, going forward.”
The news comes after MDI Ventures closed its latest fund at $500m last month while BRI Ventures launched its latest fund in June this year.
