Agung Bezharie lined up as Partner Antler Indonesia

Startup builders as well as early stage venture capital Antler announced the appointment of Agung Bezharie as Partner for Indonesia. Agung, who is the Co-Founder & CEO of Warung Pintar, will lead Antler's investment strategy in Indonesia.

This announcement was made after the company announced its plans to continue support for startups with investment objectives in more than 30 startups this time of year. So far they have invested in 792 companies spread across 25 cities around the world with an accumulated portfolio value of $3,7 billion.

"Based on my recent experience as startup founders, working with para founder new startups to innovate and make a positive impact on Indonesia is one of my personal missions," said Agung Bezharie in an official statement, Wednesday (6/7).

Agung continued, "The investment approach 'day zero' what Antler is doing is very much in line with my view of being able to help startup founders in the future, so as to create more up-to-date innovations in the market. I hope that through this approach and my previous experience, Antler Indonesia can make a positive contribution in driving growth."

For the record, Warung Pintar is a digital platform that connects micro-retailers with suppliers (manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers) to overcome fragmented traditional retail supply chains in Indonesia. In 2022, Warung Pintar was acquired by SIRCLO Group.

Before joining Smart Shop, Agung dedicates his time to contribute to well-known organizations, such as East Ventures and Indonesia's Global Entrepreneurship Program. There, he played an active role in supporting para founder by providing access to knowledge, tools, as well as a network of partners so that they can develop their companies in an increasingly competitive Indonesian and global business landscape.

Asia Antler Co-founder & Managing Partner Jussi Salovaara said that he was pleased to welcome Agung to the team. According to him, Agung's experience as a startup founder is testament to his ability to navigate the entrepreneurial landscape through a deep understanding of the startup ecosystem, coupled with his passion for technology-based solutions, very much aligned with Antler's mission.

"With the goal of supporting more than 30 outstanding startups in Indonesia this year, we are confident that Agung's leadership insights will play an important role in helping the founder realize their vision,” said Salovaara.

Founded in Singapore in 2018, Antler's mission is to impact the world by investing in customers founder amazing startups from around the world. para founder startups can grow their company faster with the residency program from Antler, can build a team, join the global community of para founder, and access to funding so it can grow faster.

The next residency program in Indonesia will start in October 2023, which will last six months in two phases. The first phase will focus on building the right team, with co-founders who have complementary skills. During this period, Antler will provide access to knowledge and expertise from around the world to enable startup founders to validate business ideas and prove product compatibility with existing markets.

After the first stage which will last for ten weeks, the strongest team will be chosen to get funding from pre seed onward, and growing throughout Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

Since two years of being present in Indonesia, based on data on its website, Antler has funded 25 startups, the majority coming from e-commerce,fintechand edutech and interestingly a quarter of these startups are led by female founders.

The site also describes funding for startups that have businesses in Indonesia, but are registered at Antler Singapore. Some of the names are Base (retail), Brick (fintech), Cove (proptech), side (rebrand so Staffinc), and That's it! (consumer tech).