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NUS Enterprise, Salim Group launch start-up incubator in Jakarta

SINGAPORE — NUS Enterprise has teamed up with the Salim Group to launch start-up incubator BLOCK71 in Jakarta, and it has set its sights on having one in Suzhou Industrial Park by the end of this year.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang officiated the launch in Jakarta. Photo: BLOCK71 Jakarta

Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang officiated the launch in Jakarta. Photo: BLOCK71 Jakarta

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SINGAPORE — NUS Enterprise has teamed up with the Salim Group to launch start-up incubator BLOCK71 in Jakarta, and it has set its sights on having one in Suzhou Industrial Park by the end of this year.

Modelled and named after the original BLOCK71 in Singapore’s own start-up hub, JTC LaunchPad@one-north, the facility in Jakarta is almost twice as big at over 16,000sq feet. It is located in Kuningan, where much of Jakarta’s tech community is at.

Singapore start-ups are expected to benefit from these hubs, as they may tap the network of resources and contacts that each of these facilities will offer.

Salim Group, NUS Enterprise’ partner for BLOCK71 Jakarta, is an Indonesian conglomerate which has a diverse businesses across industries spanning food, retail, telecommunications, hotels and others.

The two partners will provide start-ups access to their combined network of investors, corporate partners and mentors, among other things.

NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore, will also provide incubation support, and provide opportunities for start-ups to test and pilot ideas and technologies in the Indonesian market.

“BLOCK71 Jakarta will allow entrepreneurs from Singapore and Indonesia to work together and tap upon the combined experience and resources of NUS Enterprise and Salim Group. We have been identifying relevant Singapore technologies and start-ups that are interested in piloting or test-bedding their ideas in Indonesia and introducing them to BLOCK71 Jakarta,” said Dr Lily Chan, chief executive officer of NUS Enterprise.

Preliminary operations have already started at the facility since March, and some 20 start-ups are already based there, half of which are from Singapore. The facility can support up to 200 people, with rent at S$80 per desk per month.

One such Singapore start-up, pslove, is already in discussions with an established Indonesian company to bring its products – heat patches to ease back, neck and menstrual pain - into the Indonesia market.

“Indonesia is so different from Singapore, so being able to plug into the support and community here, it really helped us with initial problems, such as different cultures and nuances that we had to cope with,” said Ms Tan Peck Ying, 29, founder of pslove.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang, who officiated the launch in Jakarta on Friday, said: “BLOCK71 Jakarta will be a launchpad for Singapore entrepreneurs and innovators to build ties with the Indonesian start-up community, and explore opportunities to work together.”

NUS Enterprise is already looking to work with other conglomerates to support the community at BLOCK71.

“Indonesia is a very difficult market to access if there is no partner to work with. It would be a win-win situation for both sides. For the conglomerates, they welcome innovation and fresh talent, and also get opportunities to tap into new product offerings from the start-ups,” said Dr Chan.

The next BLOCK71 is slated to be at the Suzhou Industrial Park in China, with a memorandum of understanding already signed with industrial solutions provider Ascendas-Singbridge, which owns a facility at the industrial park.

Dr Chan said: “The concept will be similar, and we are well connected in Suzhou. This part of Suzhou is also very exciting because there are many private educational institutions there, and if start-ups can find ways to harness that energy, things will be very different.”

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