KUMPUL: Giving Indonesia Global Recognition Through Ecosystem Building

KUMPUL is an entrepreneur ecosystem builder based in Indonesia. It is focused on creating a collaborative community for startups and entrepreneurs in the country through networking and partnerships KUMPUL collaborates with more than 120 ecosystem builders across the country and the region. It also conducts over  40 cities that entrepreneurs can choose from to support the startup community including startup incubation and acceleration programs, mentorship, workshops, and networking events. KUMPUL aims to support the growth of the Indonesian startup ecosystem by fostering innovation, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration. Its goal is to help build a thriving community of startups and entrepreneurs that can drive economic growth and development in Indonesia.

What motivated you to establish a startup ecosystem builder? 

It started back in 2015 when I started KUMPUL. However, my journey started prior to this. I was always wondering why Indonesia was the largest country in Southeast Asia, has one of the largest populations in the world, is the largest archipelago, yet lacks recognition in the international community when it comes to industries, peoples, food, and much more. I started to think about entrepreneurship. In western countries, entrepreneurship is able to boost their economies. Back in 2015, I created a study about certain industries in the country using a formula to see which industries succeeded. KUMPUL shifted to run an entrepreneurship program throughout the country because we felt that our entrepreneurs lacked access to the ecosystem in the country. Access to networks, to market opportunities, to capacity building programs, and funding among others were the pain points of entrepreneurs in Indonesia. KUMPUL has been working incredibly hard for the last 7-8 years trying to identify what else we could do to make entrepreneurs' lives easier. We call ourselves the largest entrepreneur ecosystem enabler in Indonesia.  

What is KUMPUL and what makes it unique from other startup ecosystem builders in Southeast Asia?

We always make it a point to think about what else we could do for entrepreneurs. For instance, back in 2016, we felt that not enough awareness was given on building a startup or turning an idea into a business model. We work a lot on this. However throughout the years, many players have entered the system and as such, made the awareness grow. When this happened, we thought about what other things we could do, most especially how to accelerate businesses. It’s mostly about partnerships, explorations, and how one is able to connect to networks. In businesses these are really important. KUMPUL is like a super connector. We try to see how we can open up certain channels and networks according to what the startup needs. We’re a firm believer in programs because it is through these that we are able to measure. In the last two years we’ve been having the Scale-up Readiness Index, which we ask startups or businesses to fill in before entering any kind of programs or initiatives. There is a measurement here. We also aim to find out how to support talents in this digital economy.

What are the different types of programs you have available? 

In the beginning, we really focused on digital startups or businesses. However, we realized that there are entrepreneurs in the ecosystem that are in need of support for non-digital or non-tech businesses. We normally work with corporations or ministries to run a large scale program for capacity building, incubation, digitization, and the like. We are also focusing on Go Global programs inbound and outbound. This means that startups that would like to enter Indonesia to understand the ecosystem and the environment would go through KUMPUL since we are the partner for this. This also applies to Indonesian startups who would like to go abroad since we are already partners with the different ecosystem partners in Southeast Asia. We would really like to focus on the region first. It’s also very important to look outward to raise awareness and recognition. By doing so, Indonesia is able to be recognized at an international scale and attract peoples and investments.

What are the most impactful achievements KUMPUL has achieved? 

I think we can see this in the level of entrepreneurship and digital rise in Indonesia across all its cities. Our biggest achievement has been creating strategy partners, startups, and mentors in many different cities across Indonesia. KUMPUL is partnered with 120 entrepreneurial hubs in 40 cities. This is our strength. When a business wants to work with us, we are able to tap into our strategic partners and ecosystem builders. Ecosystem is really anchored on locations since this is where pools of talents, investors, partners, and funding are present. This is something that is very important to build awareness across the nation. This is something we would like to see.  

What are some of the future plans for KUMPUL and the Indonesian startup ecosystem?

Our future plan is to collaborate with the other ecosystem players on how to support growth sustainably. With the tech winter and the difficulty to grab investments, it’s similar to a bubble that bursts. This is not sustainable. Whatever we do with our startups and businesses, we always look at growth. Not just valuation gain but also the main pillars of the business: to ensure that one creates a profitable business. We would like to push this more. Also, looking into how to help early stage startups to leap into the next milestones. I believe Southeast Asia is the future. For us, the future would be to engage more players in the region and to join forces. Now and onwards, KUMPUL welcomes anyone and everyone in the region if they would like to enter Indonesia. We are happy to be the ecosystem partner for them. Indonesia sounds promising, but I do realize that sometimes it’s like a jungle: you can find a gold mountain here or you can find tigers. A lot of people are hesitant to venture in by themselves. Identifying a local partner, one that knows the ecosystem and the network to connect, this is what KUMPUL can do.

Faye Wongso is the Co-Founder and CEO of KUMPUL, an entrepreneur ecosystem builder based in Indonesia that focuses on growing the entrepreneur and startup ecosystem through networking, programs, and partnerships. It is also the largest entrepreneur ecosystem enabler in Indonesia and partners with over 80 ecosystem builders across the country and region. KUMPUL strives to facilitate the expansion of the startup ecosystem in Indonesia by connecting startups to investors and partners, and vice-versa. Its objective is to construct a flourishing community of startups and entrepreneurs that can contribute to the progress of the country's economy and development. As the Co-Founder and CEO of KUMPUL, Faye is committed to helping every entrepreneur run a successful startup by giving them equal access to all business opportunities in Indonesia and beyond.

Visit www.techshake.asia if you would like to know and connect more with KUMPUL.