Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo will launch a special fund called Merah Putih Fund on December 17 in an effort to help fund local startups, State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir said when delivering a scientific oration at the Surabaya Institute of Technology on Saturday (Dec. 11).

According to him, Merah Putih Fund would be launched with three common principles, namely the startups should be established by Indonesians, operated in Indonesia, and go public in Indonesia.

The minister observed that currently most of the domestic startups are still supported or funded by foreign investors.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) noted that there are now 2,319 startup companies in the Southeastern Asian country, which are engaged in various fields, such as education, health, e-commerce, and finance.

Reporting by Indonesia Window