"BRIN provides start-up finance. BRIN can cooperate with start-ups under certain conditions," the head of BRIN's Macroeconomic and Financial Research Center, Zamroni Salim, said in Jakarta on Friday.
Under the Research-Based Start-Up Company (PPBR) funding program, BRIN acts as a funding agency that provides research funding not only to researchers, but also to members of the public, universities, and the younger generation seeking to set up a research-based start-up.
The investment program provides funds to prospective start-up enterprises based on the findings of BRIN's research to help them become profitable and sustainable.
Selected prospective companies participate in mentoring for a maximum of six months, and the companies that pass mentoring get funding of up to Rp300 million (around US$19.3 million) per year for a maximum of two years, which can be extended for one year based on an annual evaluation.
According to Salim, the requirements that must be met by start-ups to participate in the program are that their products must be made based on research and the company should not be older than three years.
Companies that are more than three years old can no longer be called start-ups.
"After fulfilling some of these requirements, start-ups can apply to BRIN deputies to be facilitated in terms of research and innovation," Salim informed.
BRIN provides development help until the start-up is acknowledged in the market, makes a profit, and the business can run.
The Advanced Indonesian Research and Innovation funding program is opened every year. It is not limited to certain sectors and can be followed openly by anyone.
Salim said that his agency provides assistance from the stage of pre-incubation, incubation, and post-incubation until the company is accepted by the market.
"There is no assurance that all of the start-ups encouraged by BRIN will be successful because the true test is that they will not be recognized by the market. If the market accepts the company, it walks and profits, then the company can escape following incubation with BRIN," he added.
Based on the summary of start-up ranking data, Indonesia occupies the sixth position globally with a total of 2,543 start-ups.
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Translator: Sugiharto P, Alita, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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