TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, will launch the Merah Putih Fund, a domestic funding platform for local startups. The funding would be focused on startups considered soon to be unicorns or 'soonicorns' for short, valued above USD 200 million.

One of the initiators of the Merah Putih Fund platform is SOE Minister Erick Thohir, who believes that some startups with potentials of becoming Indonesia's unicorns deserve funding.

"Without funding, they could lose that potential," Erick said at the 'Digital Generation Acceleration' event earlier today, December 15, 2021.

Jokowi, who attended the same event, said that Indonesia currently only has one decacorn, or a startup with more than USD 10 billion valuation, and seven unicorns, a.k.a. startups with at least USD 1 billion in value.

Erick Thohir said Indonesia has the potential to have more unicorns, 25 in his estimation.

President Widodo is set to launch the Merah Putih Fund on Friday, 17 December. With this new funding model, the government aims to intervene in digital businesses in the country through SOEs. So far, startups have been receiving support from foreign financing.

Minister Erick said that the startups eligible to receive the Merah Putih Fund are those created by Indonesian nationals, operating in the homeland, and paying taxes.

FAJAR PEBRIANTO