The rapid development of startups in Jakarta goes hand in hand with the growth of the Internet from year to year. The use of the Internet, which is increasingly accessible and a significant increase every year, is a great opportunity for startup founders to develop their business. According to StartupRanking data, Jakarta has 1,281 registered startups by 2022. Along with the development of startups in Jakarta, MRTJ Accel by PT MRT Jakarta and Future City Accelerator (FCA) by Smart Change Jakarta collaborated to organize The MRTJ Innovation Challenge program. This collaboration program is intended to improve the service performance of MRT Jakarta and the startups that have joined.

What is MRTJ Accel, FCA, and The MRTJ Innovation Challenge

For those who don’t know, MRTJ Accel is a program owned by PT MRT Jakarta to create partnerships with startups in providing new solutions that will benefit both parties, such as increasing product scalability, market access, and customer experience. PT MRT Jakarta has successfully held this program for two batches since 2020. Meanwhile, FCA is a part of the Smart Change Jakarta initiative implemented by Enpact and funded by the European Union — which aims to build and develop an ecosystem based on smart cities and urban innovation. as a form of collaboration between the Berlin City Government and DKI Jakarta.

In this 3rd batch, MRTJ Accel and FCA collaborated to organize The MRTJ Innovation Challenge program, which is a screening program for various startups that can synergize with the PT MRT Jakarta ecosystem. This program focuses on transforming smart mobility in Jakarta and accelerating innovation in a human-centered ecosystem. It is hoped that this collaboration program will be able to provide solutions and joint commercialization benefits between PT MRT Jakarta and the startups involved.

Startup Criteria Required

Registration for this program will be open from May 11, 2022 to May 29, 2022. There are a number of requirements for startups who are interested in this program, namely:

1. companies already have products operating in Indonesia and want to accelerate their business;
2. meet the requirements of institutional entities (TDP, SIUPP, NPWP), Indonesian citizens (as evidenced by KTP);
3. preferably those who already have several clients or customers;
4. have a clear roadmap to improve its business;
5. have a good team with a proven track record;
6. prioritized for the smart mobility sector, retail development, and advertisement.

The selected startups will get many benefits from this collaboration, like gaining new business opportunities, a scalable customer base, increased company valuation and revenue sources, access to business and market consulting, business synergies with the Jakarta MRT ecosystem and opportunities for branding.

MRTJ Accel X Future City Accelerator Program Flow During 2022

Registration Opening, May 2022

Startups with a compelling business addressing one of 3 focus areas who are interested to join the MRTJ Accel X Future City Accelerator may pay attention to the requirements.

Startup Curation and Selection, May — June 2022

Startups will be curated and selected based on the submission documents and the chosen Startup participants will join the acceleration program.

Accel Cohort Welcoming & Onboarding, June 2022

The chosen startups will be onboarded to the program and introduced to the MRT Jakarta Ecosystem. In this stage, the Startups will undergo business and sales development workshops and pitch clinic with high caliber experts to train and improve business strategy and communication skills.

Value Proposition Mapping & Collaboration Matchmaking, June 2022

Each startup will collaborate and integrate the solution with specific divisions inside MRT Jakarta as the user.

Co-Creation Lab: Deep Dive Innovation Workshops, June — July 2022

Each startup will undergo series of 1-On-1 brainstorming sessions with prominent startup senior founders and practitioners that will help them develop the product collaboration. During this period of integration, access to MRT Jakarta Ecosystem, departments, and regular mentorship will be provided to ensure product specification for MRT Jakarta Ecosystem.

Demo Day, July 2022

Demo Day is the highlight event for startups to present their product in the public and assessed by MRT Jakarta Seniors to have feedback on their potential product to collaborate with MRT Jakarta Ecosystem.

For Smartcitizens who have start-ups that meet these criteria, there is no harm in trying to register for the MRTJ X Future City Accelerator program on this page. For the latest and further information, you can follow the social media at PT MRT Jakarta and Smart Change Jakarta. Good luck!