New Energy Nexus Announces First Funding, Focuses on Renewable Energy Startups in Indonesia

Global non-profit organization New Energy Nexus officially announced the debut of funding in Indonesia for PT Bina Usaha Lintas Ekonomi (BLUE), a startup in the renewable energy sector with an undisclosed amount of funding.

BLUE provides a one-stop solution for renewable energy goods and services through marketplaceEnergy Shop. In addition, BLUE also develops B2B solar energy solutions for commercial, industrial, and centralized solar energy systems for urban and rural areas in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, BLUE participated in the Smart Energy incubation program at the end of 2019 and continued its acceleration program in 2020.

In his official statement, New Energy Nexus Indonesia Investment Director Yeni Tjiunardi revealed that this initial funding also marks the launch of the "Indonesia 1 Fund" program. The focus is on opening pintu towards renewable energy startups in Indonesia, from the seed up to series A.

The Indonesia 1 Fund will focus on ten main areas, including renewable energy, smart grid, energy efficiency, energy management, customer experience, e-mobility, business model innovation, Internet of Things (IoT) & digitization, as well energy access & energy storage.

Meanwhile, BLUE CEO Abu Bakar Abdul Karim Almukmin said that this funding was used to strengthen the company's foundation so that it can support strategic developments that will be carried out over the next two years.

Trying to close gap renewable energy investment in Indonesia

Contacted DailySocial Separately, Yeni revealed that since arriving in Indonesia in 2018, New Nexus Energy has had 35 startups participating through the Smart Energy incubation and acceleration program. One of them, BLUE, has secured commercial funding and five other startups have received grant.

In accordance with its mission, New Nexus Energy supports business actors in the clean energy through funding and acceleration programs. Starting in California, United States (US), now New Energy Nexus is also expanding the scope of its programs and investments in China, India, Southeast Asia, and East Africa.

However, Yeni considers that there are still many perceptions that investment in businesses in this field is difficult to achieve profitable, or the assumption has only been realized in the long term. This perception makes the number of interested investors limited.

Thus, New Energy Nexus seeks to bridge the gap gap investation di early stage faced by these startups, investors are waiting for each other who will take the first step. "Though, just like early stage investment in other areas, what distinguishes the success and business journey of each company is the execution ability and market understanding of the team," he said.

Furthermore, he considered that the pandemic situation was a momentum for everyone to think about innovation and alternatives to business in general. With this situation, he sees more and more parties understand and believe in the economic potential of renewable energy.

"This investment can help accelerate Indonesia's transition to a renewable energy-based economic system," he said.

Given the new funding debut, currently it is trying to provide continuous support. It also plans to implement impact effectiveness measurement by referring to its experience of investing in California and India.

Currently, it is carrying out outreach through a number of programs, namely the Connex Energy Meetup, (RE)Charge Series Bootcamp, as well as the Smart Energy incubation and acceleration program. The screening was carried out until mid-November 2020, with sessions cohort starting in the fourth quarter of 2020.

"Our hypothesis refers to the identification and execution of business models according to market conditions that have a high chance of success. Of course we look at the team composition and potential impact (environment, economy, livelihoods). Our main goal is to support them so they can develop and become profitable. They can make an impact by adopting a business-based low carbon economy."Close it.