DealStreetAsia’s Indonesia PE-VC Summit 2022, held virtually from Mar. 8-9, critically observed and evaluated the Indonesia growth story through the private equity, and venture capital lens.
Across 21 sessions, and 13.5 hours of vital discussions, the summit examined the significant developments from fundraising to listing and emerging investment themes. Tune into this video playlist of sorts to watch experts speak on what’s trending in Indonesia’s PE-VC landscape.
Fireside chats
1. SE Asia’s macro trends point to a long runway for growth in tech
- Louis Casey, Principal, Private Equity, KKR
Casey spoke on the ongoing market volatility. Fears of rising inflation, as well as public market volatility, have started weighing down on private markets, thereby pushing for some correction in the inflated tech space. Read the highlights of the chat here.
2. Value creation through value-addition and ‘consumers-first’ investment strategy
- Sunata Tjiterosampurno, Northstar Group
Among other things, Tjiterosampurno spoke on Northstar’s big bet on IPO-bound GoTo. ““Given that I invested in the company, of course I would say I’m pretty bullish but putting that aside, when listed, GoTo will become one of the major big-cap in Indonesia,” he said.
3. The Xendit Story: From unicorn milestone to upping stakes in financial services game
- Tessa Wijaya, COO and Co-founder, Xendit
Digital payments platform Xendit, which joined the unicorn club last year, is not in a hurry to IPO. It wants to first expand its operations to other countries in Southeast Asia and dominate the market with more products.
4. Indonesia’s tech sector enters golden age with accelerated digital adoption
- Jenny Lee, Managing Partner, GGV Capital
GGV Capital managing partner Jenny Lee has seen plenty of market cycles. Nine, she says, in her 22 years in the venture capital industry. Amid these cycles – some large, others a blip – her advice to startup founders is the same. Read more.
5. Multi-stage investment approach and leveraging networks to pick winners
- Donald Wihardja, CEO, MDI Ventures
With three unicorns and 11 exits under its belt, MDI Ventures knows a thing or two about picking winning startups.
6. How Indonesia’s new SWF will balance infrastructure and tech investments
- Stefanus Ade Hadiwidjaja, CIO, Indonesia Investment Authority
The Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), the country’s first sovereign wealth fund, plans to close more deals in 2022 as it balances the aim to boost investments in the country’s much-needed infrastructure and the fast-growing digital ecosystem.
Panel discussions
1. The evolving private equity landscape in Indonesia
- Saurabh N. Agarwal, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus
- Ashish Saboo, Managing Director & Head of Indonesia, General Atlantic
Indonesia presents a long runway of investment opportunities for PE investors as SE Asia’s largest economy is still about 7-10 years behind the current growth of China, said the industry professionals.
2. Indonesia key to generating alpha for VCs in SE Asia
- Jefrey Joe, Co-founder and General Partner, Alpha JWC Ventures
- Adrian Li, Managing Partner and Founder, AC Ventures
The recent trend of Tiger Global and other big US investors piling large sums into Southeast Asia should put regional funds on the edge, but Alpha JWC Partners and AC Ventures insist it hasn’t.
3. How is Indonesia’s exit landscape shaping up?
- Harold Ong, Partner, Indies Capital
- Gary Khoeng, Partner, Vertex Ventures SE Asia and India
- Christian Sugiarto, Managing Director and CIO, Capsquare Asia Partners
Bukalapak’s public listing was a highly-anticipated event, but the stock has taken a beating since the IPO, amid a broader tech selldown across markets. Continued volatility has likely put upcoming unicorn IPOs on hold, industry observers say.
4. Farm to fork: How young entrepreneurs are changing the way you get your food
- Farid Aslam, CEO & Co-founder
- Aruna David Setyadi Gunawan, Chief Executive Officer, EdenFarm
Agricultural technology (agritech) startups are changing the way Indonesians consume food but ensuring that fresh products get to the plate faster and cheaper remains a daunting task in an archipelago known for its logistics challenges. Read highlights of the session here.
5. The importance of leveraging huge ecosystems to build a payments leader
- Jaygan Fu Ponnudurai, CEO, OVO
- Victor Lesmana, President, Commerce & Fintech, Bukalapak
Indonesia will see more payments players solving niche problems, such as expanding the acceptance of digital payments among MSMEs, in the next three years, the panelists said.
6. Digital trade, digital platforms & digital investments – The key to financial inclusion in Indonesia
- Claudia Kolonas, Founder, Pluang
- Vincent Henry Iswaratioso, Co-founder and CEO, DANA
- JJ Ang, Chief Financial Officer, GudangAda
- Tushar Roy, Partner, Square Peg Capital
Even as fintech adoption explodes, there’s a long way to go to achieve financial literacy in Indonesia.
7. Mental health concerns take centre stage in pandemic aftermath
- Theodoric Chew, CEO and Co-founder, Intellect
- Gita Sjahrir, Co-founder and CEO, RFitness
- Khailee Ng, Global Managing Partner, 500 Global
- Hian Goh, Founder, General Partner, OpenSpace
It’s no secret that the grind of starting, managing, and growing a company can take a toll on its employees. But what if startup founders and investors begin to acknowledge the stress and be open about it?
8. The financial inclusion opportunity in the digitalisation of MSMEs
- Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, Vice Minister, Indonesia State-Owned Enterprises II
- Aldi Haryopratomo, Digital Payment Expert
- Pandu Sjahrir, Chairman, Indonesia FinTech Association; Managing Partner, Indies Capital
- Wibawa Prasetyawan, CMO, LinkAja
9. What’s next for Indonesia’s well-funded and crowded SME digitalisation space?
- Krishnan Menon, Founder & CEO, Lummo
- Nipun Mehra, Co-founder, Ula
- Alan Hellawell, Founder, Gizmo Advisors
There is still significant room for startups in the digitalisation space to thrive as 90% of the country’s businesses remain offline.
10. How tech investments can blend social impact and financial returns
- John Colombo, Indonesia country manager, Clime Capital
- Dondi Hananto, partner, Patamar Capital
- Tanah Sullivan, Group Head of Sustainability, GoTo
Clean tech is a sector usually bypassed by traditional investors, because of the long runway required by such startups to generate returns. Yet, some funds are thinking differently.
11. How are global VC investors gauging the opportunities in Indonesia?
- Pinn Lawjindakul, Vice President, Lightspeed
- Sachin Bhanot, Head of SE Asia investments, Prosus Ventures
- Akshay Bajaj, Venture Capital, SEA, Susquehanna International Group (SIG)
12. DTC brands coming of age in Indonesia
- Shinta Nurfauzia, Co-CEO and Co-founder, Lemonilo
- Billy Kurniawan, Founder, Jiwa Group
- Jeffrey Yuwono, Founder & CEO, Open Labs
Rapid digital adoption in Indonesia has provided strong tailwinds for the growth of DTC brands in the country.
Our Super Saver rate of $599 for the Asia PE-VC Summit 2022 lasts only until 23:59 SGT on April 30, 2022. Book your tickets now and save $1,400 per order.
