Jakarta, 18 August 2021 – A total of 24 women-led Indonesian startups have been chosen in the  SheDisrupts Indonesia 2021 event, initiated by Indonesian Women Empowerment Fund (IWEF) and social and environmental impact organization Creatella Impact. The event was held in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, impact fund management company Moonshot Ventures, social enterprise group YCAB Ventures, and Citibank, aimed at uplifting women social entrepreneurs across Indonesia.

Held between July and August, the event involved pitching ideas and mentoring by over 30 participants. The participating ventures, which were selected from a total of over 70 applicants, will participate in a two-week pre-acceleration programme which began on August 16, and will culminate in a virtual “Demo Day” of business-pitching and networking on August 27.

SheDisrupts Indonesia 2021 was launched  to boost economic resilience and sustainable communities in the country by empowering Indonesian women entrepreneurs, given the high proportion of women-led MSMEs in the nation’s entrepreneurial landscape. In addition to providing capital to facilitate disruptive, yet impactful, business ideas among participating startups, partners of the initiative will also deliver expert advice during the upcoming pre-acceleration programme, which will feature a variety of curriculum modules focused on supporting the growth of the early-stage participating startups, including technology, business growth, investment and thematic modules such as gender.

A range of products were presented from various industries including agriculture, education, and food and beverage, with distinct, innovative and impactful business approaches. The startups presented tech-savvy solutions which addressed women’s empowerment and other social issues. “PerfectFit”, for instance, focused on alternatives to  disposable sanitary pads. The project focused on working with women and girls in the province of East Nusa Tenggara.

Participants were awarded USD 10,000 in credits to Freshworks software products; IDR 250,000 (USD 18), IDR500,000, and IDR 1 million in internet packages by Indonesian telecommunications provider Telkomsel;  and fast track entry to Techstars’ seed accelerator program and design-thinking workshop by application developer Styliff Tech. In addition, all participants received various gifts from companies like Hubspot, Segment, and Freshworks

“As we work towards building forward better after the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to take an inclusive approach to recovery. By supporting women entrepreneurs and their work through these partnerships and events, we can ensure we empower them to realize their full potential and make a positive impact,” said Mr. Didi Hardiana Head of Innovative Financing Lab UNDP Indonesia.

“Combining tech knowledge and tools with training on business and impact management, offers a massive value proposition for women-led enterprises, inspires more women to pursue entrepreneurial activities, and innovative business models contributing to economic progress and SDGs. That’s why Creatella Impact promotes creative use of ICTs as a platform to raise the agency of businesswomen and women’s economic empowerment,” said Mr. Guillaume Catella, Co-Executive Director of Creatella Impact.

UNDP will also provide expertise during the pre-acceleration programme in the form of Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) advice, which combines growth strategies aligned with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s IMM advisory in SheDisrupts Indonesia is a successor to the inaugural IMM training in Impact Aim Venture Accelerator, launched in 2019 by UNDP Indonesia and 500 startups, which equipped social enterprises with the skills to develop sustainable, impactful solutions. This programme is part of the UN’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF), a joint initiative developed by UNDP, ILO, UNAIDS and UNHCR on post-pandemic support for Indonesia’s most vulnerable populations.

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MEDIA CONTACTS

UNDP Indonesia Communication Specialist Tomi Soetjipto suryo.tomi@undp.org
UNDP Indonesia Communication and Advocacy Specialist Ranjit Jose ranjit.jose@undp.org

Impact Investment Officer Cindy Colondam cindy.abigail@undp.org

Digital Communications IFL Denatalie Hutagalung denatalie.hutagalung@undp.org