To launch Indonesia’s first venture capital courses, BRI Ventures & SBM ITB team up
BRI Ventures, Indonesia’s state-owned BRI Group’s investment arm, announced today a partnership with ITB School of Business and Management (SBM ITB) to establish the country’s first venture capital university courses in 2021.
SBM ITB’s Jakarta and Bandung campuses will offer venture capital courses in both undergraduate and graduate programmes. Its goal is to grow the archipelago’s new job market of professional venture capitalists for growing startup industries.
Students will learn about basic venture investing principles, receive exposure to diverse startup ecosystems, and grasp financial building blocks connected to the business life cycle through this programme.
“Ten years ago, venture capital wasn’t considered a career and now has become one of the ideal accomplishments among local business students,” said BRI Ventures’s CEO and veteran venture capitalist Nicko Widjaja.
The venture capital investment courses will take advantage of the university-industry partnership by providing students with substantial industry insights and subject matter knowledge from business executives.
“The programme is strongly aligned with the mission of SBM ITB, which aims to nurture leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset that creates impact,” added Dean of Economics and Business Prof. Utomo Sarjono Putro.
Global and regional venture capital companies have flooded the Southeast Asian startup investment scene, vying for a piece of the Indonesian market. According to the Indonesian Venture and Startup Association, total financing for local companies in the third quarter of 2020 exceeded US$1.9 billion across 52 rounds.
Indonesia has seen a surge in tech startups in recent years, particularly with the rise of the country’s four original unicorns, Gojek, Tokopedia, Traveloka, and Bukalapak.
