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New accelerator to help develop food startups
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About 90 percent of startups end in failure caused by the founders' difficulty in recruiting suitable and competent CEOs to run their businesses, according to a survey by 'CBN Insight' in 2018. (Shutterstock/Jirsak)
T
he Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) has spent more than Rp 40 billion (US$2.8 million) over the past three years to build a local food startup ecosystem and it says the investment is paying off as more businesses are entering the system, including the latest addition of Accelerice, a private startup training center.
“We need to scale up Indonesia’s food startups. Bekraf can provide capital but it is not enough. We also need big companies to lend their networks and experience,” said Bekraf's deputy for capital access, Fadjar Hutomo, who heads the food industry initiatives, during the center’s launch in Jakarta.
He was referring to his agency’s annual Government Incentive Aid (BIP) scheme that has disbursed an average of Rp 155 million to 19 food startups, which he acknowledged was a minuscule number compared to the country’s 5.6 million food enterprises.
The scheme was only meant to complement Bekraf’s all-in-one Food Startup Indonesia (FSI) exhibition, mentorship and pitch deck program, which was launched in 2016 to help at least 50 lucrative businesses each year meet new clients and investors.
According to the latest data from the Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (GAPMMI), these businesses are part of a domestic manufactured food market worth Rp 180 trillion.
To implement the FSI, Bekraf also began working with FoodLab Indonesia, another food startup trainer and pre-seed financier, to train participating businesses such as Matchamu instant latte, Rosalie Cheese and Tempe Krezi soybean tempeh chips.
It was after attending an FSI promotional campaign last year when Charlotte Kowara, a self-professed foodie, decided to help local food startups by forming Accelerice.
