Jakarta-based MDI Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Telkom Indonesia, on Tuesday announced that it closed a USD 500 million fund aimed at the digital transformation agendas of the nation’s state-owned enterprises.
“To maintain their strong foothold well into the future, our SOEs know they need to embrace digital business models more profoundly than ever before,” said MDI Ventures CEO Donald Wihardja.
In recent years, Indonesia started to transition major SOEs towards the digital world, either by launching their own apps or by partnering with startups such as the digital signature platform PrivyID, e-wallet provider LinkAja, and P2P lender Modal Rakyat. MDI Ventures plans to add more names to the list.
“As an important investment arm of the state, MDI Ventures seeks to secure clear-cut wins for the country itself, for our portfolio of startups, and for our firm,” said COO Sandhy Widyasthana. “These startups will furnish state-owned companies with value-added digital services that will help them adapt to a rapidly changing business landscape in Indonesia. It also means startups can potentially have more exit opportunities later on.”
MDI Ventures now claims to be the largest multi-fund corporate venture capital firm in the country, with more than USD 790 million of assets under management. Since 2016, the firm has invested in more than 44 startups from more than 12 countries, including insurtech startup Qoala, fintech lending platform Kredivo, and furniture e-commerce platform Fabelio. In 2019, the VC achieved five exits, three acquisitions and two IPOs.
