Millennials: The Passionate Driver of Tech-Based Social Enterprises in Indonesia

The young have always had a knack for pointing out what’s missing in their world. You can hear it in the music of every era. Yet, never before have they had the opportunity to build products, services, or communities, as a viable and bankable solution to the problems they encounter. A solution that has been rising steadily in number since 2012 called Social Enterprise.

Yes, millennials are the passionate driver of social enterprising in Indonesia. According to a study done by Platform Usaha Sosial on “Developing an Inclusive and Creative Economy”, more 70% of the 500 participating social enterprises were started in the last two years. Nearly 46% of them are lead by young, innovative and committed 25-34 year olds.

However, building, growing, and maintaining a social enterprise aren’t as easy as it sounds. The endless energy of the young needs to be supported and facilitated by the wisdom of trusted mentors. For those enterprises looking to use IoT to further their goals, this is where TINC can help.

Telkomsel Innovation Center or TINC is an enabler, mentor, collaborator, and facilitator to innovators looking to use the Internet of Things as part of their solution. Last year TINC have incubated exciting solutions such as the 4+ gen NB-IoT bike sharing solution SPEKUN created by Banapolis in collaboration with Universitas Indonesia, or the NB-IoT based automatic fish feeder eFishery, and the smart waste management SMASH done in collaboration with Danone.

Starting in 2019 TINC will be incubating and developing more creative solutions within Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Farming fields. Some of these agri-tech prototypes are:

Habibi Garden a start-up that developed a crop fertilizer feeder and watering solution which uses NB-IoT for daily management and monitoring. For farmers, the data collected from Habibi can help prevent diseases in plants, and ensure effective use of water and fertilizer. All the while, it helps provide security for investors by keeping them in the loop on the crops’ performance.

In the field of aquaculture, TINC is working with JALA, a start-up that developed water quality sensors and shrimp farming management system for individual farmers and middle-level industries. The data collected by JALA’s device provides a variety of predictive insights about fisheries such as; pond conditions, crop production potential, and shrimp prices in nearby cities as price references for farmers.

It is exciting to see more IoT solutions come out from the agriculture field since this sector alone brings in more than 46 Billion Rupiah for Indonesia’s GDP last year, making the nation the 5th strongest agriculture industry in the world. By creatively utilizing technology, exponential growth in agriculture is not a dream too wild to achieve. We are excited to see how these projects will better Indonesia in the years to come.

In the meantime, if you’re an industry expert looking to mentor young innovators, or you’re one of the dedicated millennials seeking to change your community for the better, get in touch with us at TINC.

The world of IoT can be an endless playground for anyone eager enough to innovate along with it. Visit us at telkomseliot.com to see how Telkomsel IoT can help you make a better Indonesia.