Telkomsel Opens Door for NextDev Start-ups to Join Government Programmes

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Telkomsel is opening up opportunities for start-ups participating in its NextDev incubation programme to connect with government development initiatives.

Telkomsel Vice President of Corporate Communications and Social Responsibility Abdullah Fahmi said the company would submit its evaluation of NextDev participants to the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi) for further consideration by the ministry.

“Telkomsel and Kemkomdigi are always in communication, so we link some of our activities with theirs, and we also report this programme (NextDev) to Kemkomdigi,” Fahmi said at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

“If there is a connection or a good match with them, we may link the start-ups directly with the ministry,” he said.

As part of NextDev, Telkomsel will share its evaluation of the start-ups based on the competition’s assessment categories.

For development within Telkomsel, the company will make recommendations directly to business units involved in start-up development, such as INDICO.

Fahmi said the approach could give start-ups considered to have potential and relevance further development opportunities through Telkomsel’s ecosystem.

This year, Telkomsel is prioritising technopreneurs who have used or are exploring artificial intelligence (AI) to create tangible and sustainable impact.

Twenty selected technopreneurs will take part in a validation and pitching process before 10 are chosen to join the NextDev Academy.

The 10 technopreneurs will receive guidance from mentors in technology and AI, finance, marketing and productivity. The mentoring is intended to help them validate user needs, strengthen their business models, improve operations and create added value through AI.