Sinar Mas Land and UD IMPACT Launch AI Entrepreneurship Academy
Tangerang — Sinar Mas Land and UD IMPACT have formed a strategic partnership to introduce the AI Entrepreneurship Academy at BSD City in Tangerang, Banten province, to boost Indonesia’s competitiveness in the digital era.
“This collaboration marks a shared commitment to make the BSD City area not only a world-class residential and business hub but also a centre for AI-based entrepreneurship incubation and for developing digital talent in Indonesia,” said Irawan Harahap, CEO of Digital Tech Ecosystem and Development at Sinar Mas Land, at the Biomedical Campus, BSD City, Tangerang, on Tuesday.
He explained that, based on the e-Conomy SEA 2025 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, Indonesia is cited as the country with the highest AI adoption rate in Southeast Asia, alongside Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Malaysia in the AI transformation leap, thanks to a rapidly developing ecosystem.
However, AWS and Strand Partners’ research shows AI utilisation in Indonesia remains dominated by basic automation at around 90 percent. This underlines the importance of strengthening AI-based talent and entrepreneurship ecosystems to boost Indonesia’s competitiveness in the digital era.
BSD City, he continued, has evolved into an area where educational institutions, business communities, and the digital ecosystem converge within a single integrated environment.
The collaboration with UD IMPACT also enriches a new initiative, namely mBrace (Make BSD Research and AI Center of Excellence), a research and AI centre to push BSD City not only as a place to learn and work but also as the cradle for AI-based innovation and young entrepreneurs.
Through the signing of this memorandum of understanding, the two parties formally commence the collaboration on the AI Entrepreneurship Academy, starting with the BSD City AI Hackathon in Q3 2026.
The inaugural programme will involve students from several prestigious universities in the BSD City area, such as Prasetiya Mulya University, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, and Monash University Indonesia.
Dion Park, Director of Indonesia UD IMPACT Inc., said he is optimistic that Southeast Asia’s best young entrepreneurs still sit in universities.
They not only require an AI curriculum but also space to experiment, experienced mentors, and access to a global ecosystem.
For teams that succeed in incubation, UD IMPACT also opens access to Asia Growth Track from 2027, with networks in Korea through TIPS Town and Busan City, Japan through Underdogs Tokyo, and India and South Asia via Underdogs Delhi, with market-entry and cross-border matching support to help Indonesian startups compete regionally.
“Through the AI Entrepreneurship Academy at BSD City, the company aims to demonstrate the readiness of the BSD City university ecosystem to birth future AI startups,” he said.
The AI Entrepreneurship Academy will be launched with the BSD City AI Hackathon, an intensive four-week programme comprising an online pre-camp and on-site hackathon at BSD City to equip participants with AI fundamentals, technology solution development, and the creation of AI-based MVPs to address real-world problems.
The best participants from this programme will then have the opportunity to join an advanced incubation programme focused on developing startups, validating business models, mentoring, and connecting with investors up to the Demo Day stage.
The AI Entrepreneurship Academy also features a Regular Startup Programme, an advanced class open to the public as well as hackathon participants, with more in-depth and practical content.
The programme is designed so that hackathon participants do not stop at ideation but also understand the market, test business potential, and translate AI-based innovations into real and sustainable ventures.
Through both programmes, the AI Entrepreneurship Academy is expected to produce AI-based entrepreneurial talents who are innovative, adaptable, and ready to compete in the digital economy era.