In August 2016, 30 potential social enterprises, who aim to scale up their businesses and give social impacts, gathered in Jakarta. They joined workshops held by Kinara Indonesia, named Impact Accelerator Program (IAP). 11 companies in food security sector were selected to be the first participants of the program. At the end of the program, 2 companies received a grant in amount of US$25,000 each to improve their businesses.
Indonesia Impact Accelerator Program (IAP) is a startup accelerator, targeting early-stage social enterprise in Indonesia. The first batch of the program involved entrepreneurs who have business ideas to solve real problem in society, specifically in food security sector. The first IAP was supported by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia and held by Kinara Indonesia in collaboration with KOMPAK, an Australia-Indonesia Government partnership working to reduce poverty in Indonesia.
The first IAP was a 4-month program, consisted of 3 intensive workshops and 3 webinars. IAP invited high-calibre speakers and experienced entrepreneurs to share their knowledge to the participants through an interactive way. Active discussion encouraged participants to analyze and review their own business while also learned from other participants’ businesses. The learning journey during the program inspired the participants to learn and help one another, which also aspire them to create bigger impact for society.
The program itself is adapted from Village Capital’s peer-selected investment model, which also implemented for the similar business acceleration program in US, South America, and Africa. The process of selecting, training, and funding entrepreneurs begin by identifying a problem and end with a unique peer-review model for investment decision. The selection of the grant recipient is unique. Instead of making it as a “competition” where the recipient of the grant is decided by judges or investors, the program use peer-to-peer assessment where the program participants assess one another. This selection model is chosen due to its alignment with Indonesian values, where the society’s value is more collective rather than individualistic.
For rating purpose, all participants are provided with all assessment points and dimensions they need to follow to rate one another. This process is also intended to train them on how to think like an investor so they know what investors actually seek in a company. Based on peer-to-peer assessment, PT. Pandawa Agri Indonesia and Sirtanio Organik Indonesia is decided to be the grantees who received US$25,000 each.
PT Pandawa Agri Indonesia has a view that there is a need to balance agricultural production for the sake of stakeholder’s welfare and environmental sustainability. Pandawa offers an adjuvant herbicide, named “Weed Solution” as a better substitute of synthetic pesticide that is commonly used in society. The products increase the efficiency for farmers and reduce bad effect to environment coming from ordinary pesticide.
Furthermore, Sirtanio Organik Indonesia focuses on fair trade and improving prosperity of organic rice farmers in Banyuwangi. The inability of rice farmers in Indonesia to set the price makes most of them still live below the poverty line. Sirtanio Organik Indonesia tries to solve this problem by giving them agriculture knowledge and main capital. By deciding the price of the harvested grain together and referring to price agreement that is settled in the beginning of the seed time, Sirtanio can help farmer to gain fair income as well.
The other companies, that graduated from IAP Batch 1, are all in food security sector with their own impacts and high potential for growth. Give them a look at links below:
- Aliet Green – natural, organic, fair-trade certified coconut sugar
- Aruna – integrated fisheries commerce
- Fish n Blues – sustainable online seafood retailer & supplier
- Iwak – micro-funding platform to connect fish farmers & investor
- Koperasi Global Agrimitra – improving the livelihoods of coffee farmers by adding product value & shortening value chains
- Limakilo – platform connecting farmers directly to consumer
- Mekanira Nusantara – natural granulated coconut sugar as alternative sugar
- Moshi2 Spesialis Sampah – integrated household waste management
- Ocean Fresh – sustainable marine natural resources processing
Due to high demand from social enterprise ecosystem players, such as business owner, investors, government bodies, and others in Indonesia, the Impact Accelerator Program is now an annual program from Kinara Indonesia. As of 2018, Kinara Indonesia manages the third batch of Impact Accelerator Program with the theme of “Innovative and Ethical Fashion”.
- Check the full profile of the first batch here: http://bit.ly/profileiapbatch1
- Check the full profile of the second batch here: http://bit.ly/profileiapbatch2
- Check the full profile of the third batch here: http://bit.ly/profileiapbatch3