Partially private Indonesia-based telecommunications service provider Telekomunikasi Indonesia is planning to invest $200m in start-ups in conjunction with venture capital firms, Indonesian online portal Okezone reported today.
In addition to being the largest VC entity to come out of Asia, the company’s president director Arief Yahya claimed the fund would be the first corporate venturing unit in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.
Telekomunikasi Indonesia, also known as Telkom Indonesia, plans to partner with US-based VC firms, one of which will be Fenox Venture Capital, in its investments and will seek to leverage the expertise of Silicon Valley VCs in its Indigo Incubator programme, which is currently working through its second batch of start-ups.
The company, which is majority owned by the Indonesian government, will also seek to send the most promising of its portfolio companies to Silicon Valley for mentoring.