From August 29th to September 2nd, eight South Korean startups participated in a five day UK-Korea-Indonesia Catalyst project held in Bali, Indonesia to explore future business cooperation opportunities with UK and Indonesian startups.
The Korea Foundation and British Council jointly held the UK-Korea Catalyst project in the past, aiming to solve various social and economic problems through cooperation between the countries. The project has been held twice in South Korea and the United Kingdom.
This was the third phase of the project, and also the final phase. British and Korean innovation groups and social enterprises attended this project before gathering in a third country, Indonesia, to carry out exchanges with young local social entrepreneurs and seek development plans to expand influence.
Kim Yong-ju from the British Council was responsible for the preparation of this activity. He said that the first two projects in Korea and the United Kingdom enhanced exchanges between the two countries, and this project aims to create practical cooperation. “We hope startups in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia will influence each other and enhance cooperation through activities held in the latter.
There were 22 entrepreneurs participating in the project, including eight companies from Korea: Playplanet, Jerrybag, ETHRICA, KOA, VentureSquare, Weenu, HOW2COMPANY, and UrbanSociety. The eight companies specialize in design, urban regeneration, co-working spaces, media, traditional culture, travel, tourism, international cooperation, art, and many other areas, and all of them have more than three years’ business experience in their own area.
Eleven Indonesian companies participated in this activity including a batik-making software company (batik is an Indonesian national treasure, and was designated by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity), a traditional pattern design improvement company, a Jakarta media company, and a bamboo handicraft research company to name a few. There were also two UK companies participating in the activity: Knowle West Centre and Common Place, which provide consultation and investment for technology and art startups.
Ian Robinson, Vice President of the British Council in Indonesia
On the first day of the activity, they introduced startups from Britain, South Korea, and Indonesia, shared current information of three social enterprises, and formed teams for the roadshow on the last day.
South Korean, Indonesian, and British startups participated in the project in the form of joint teams. Finally, Indonesia’s three teams were selected as excellent teams, and through the roadshow, obtained the opportunity to visit South Korea and exchange with Korean social enterprises.
Indonesian Team
Indonesian Project Manager Ari Sutanti said, although there have been many seminars to promote exchanges among countries in the past, there has never been anything like this activity, which gathered a few countries, but allowed them to spend meaningful time together. We hope the three countries can explore cooperation opportunities in the future through this activity.
