Eddi Danusaputro Presents BNI Ventures Investment Thesis

PT BNI Modal Ventura or BNI Ventures explained the focus of startup investment in the event Nexticorn International Summit 2022 some time ago. BNI Ventures is eyeing startups that can support the mission of the parent company PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk (IDX: BBNI) to go global.

Revealed CEO of BNI Ventures Eddi Danusaputro, the government has given their respective mandates to the Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) of other SOEs. For example, BRI Ventures (BRI) focuses on the micro sector and Mandiri Capital Indonesia (Mandiri) on the corporate and retail sectors.

"While the mandate to BNI is different. BNI will move to become a international banking to support the diaspora and companies that do business outside. We are looking for a startup that supports customer BNI, such as remittance services in Hong Kong or workers in Saudi Arabia. Here try us capture," said Eddie.

However, he added, it does not mean that BNI Ventures always targets portfolios from outside Indonesia. His party is also looking for startups that can support MSME players who want to export their products abroad. "At least there are components, export can be from local," he said.

Meanwhile, BNI Ventures is eyeing the agnostic sector in startup funding in the series A stage or early stage which have not yet entered the market.

For information, BNI deposited Rp500 billion or the equivalent of 500 thousand shares which are the controlling holders representing 99,98% ownership in BNI Ventures. Meanwhile, the rest is held by PT BNI Asset Management.

Meanwhile, the plan for BNI to enter the digital ecosystem emerged after the establishment of the Merah Putih Fund. When established, the Merah Putih Fund will be supported by five SOEs through their respective CVCs, consisting of Telkom, Telkomsel, Mandiri, BRI, and BNI. However, at that time only BNI did not have a CVC.

Red and White Fund

In a separate interview, Eddi, who is also the Chief PMO of the Merah Putih Fund, targets startup funding through: Red and White Fund carried out in early 2023. Currently, his party is still preparing the administrative process.

"There are five early investors, but [funds] from each cannot be disbursed.disclose because not all portions are equal. In our first quarter of 2023 enter market, now in process, has appointed a custodian bank, legal counsel. This $300 million fund needs to be injected into the Red and White Fund account," said Eddi.

According to him, currently he has started exploring potential startups, although nothing is certain. In pipelineIn his program, he targeted more than 30 meetings with startups from various startups. It should be noted, to get funding from the Merah Putih Fund, all founder and operating company must come from Indonesia.

"It should also be noted that we are open [with any startup]. It doesn't mean [looking for] startups that have been funded by MDI or MCI, continue to get a fast track, not really. It doesn't have to be a portfolio. Existing of the five investors. We have to be fair."