More enterprise startups in Indonesia are on the receiving end of support from the government as the country continues to move towards a new era of digital innovation.
The latest Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) to receive government funding is one of the winners of the agency’s Startup4Industry competition held earlier this year, Gati Wibawaningsih, the Director-General of Small, Medium and Multifarious Industries of the Ministry of Industry, announced in a statement.
The Minister said: “PT DycodeX Teknologi Nusantara is part of the five best Indonesian startups that graduated from [the competition], with a work called HeatraX.”
The HeatraX application is the latest venture of the firm in digital technology. The app was deemed to be another useful technology that can be used in the healthcare industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HeatraX is an upgraded variant of thermal scanners. One of the application’s primary features is a contactless thermal screening that runs on an on-device artificial intelligence or AI. It also comes equipped with face recognition and a real-time warning feature that measures a person’s temperature.
What sets HeatraX apart from other health and safety monitoring apps in the market today is its capacity for data sharing and integration. PT DycodeX explained: “HeatraX not just a device, but a platform that is enriched with a web-based dashboard and mobile app, and allows the system to integrate with third parties.”
In terms of market potential, the Ministry added that it sees big potential in the HeatraX application as most establishments need to invest in thermal scanning equipment as part of strict safety and health protocols.
However, the Ministry’s Director General was quick to add that HeatraX does not merely serve its purpose in thermal scanning. In the long run, the agency anticipates that the platform can be used in data analytics with the capability to track, trace and be customised based on AI.
A digital future in Indonesia
The Ministry renewed calls on startups and other enterprises to contribute to growth in the industrial sector and the country’s overall economic stability. Companies can likewise contribute to healthcare as the government looks forward to an integrated and automated smart screening system that can prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The Ministry likewise said that it sees the MSME industry as a viable market. Through a series of activities, it explained that it is supporting what it called an “economic rebooting” by sustaining the momentum of MSMEs during the pandemic. This initiative is in line with the provisions of the Job Creation Law.
In a separate statement, Minister of Industry Agus stated that his agency will continue to implement the e-Smart programme. The system, up and running since 2017, encourages a collaboration between the government and the private sector to support small enterprises in the industrial sector.
There are currently 516 MSME players in the market that have been included in the e-Smart catalogue. The Minister also said: “In 2020, a total of 3,958 IKM registered for the e-Smart IKM programme and 2,014 of them successfully passed the curation and have attended the training.”
The Indonesian government has been ramping up its adoption of innovative technology to scale up its operations and existing organisational frameworks. According to an earlier report by OpenGov Asia, the government announced that supporting MSMEs sits on top of its priority list as it plans to hit its goals under the Making Indonesia 4.0 roadmap. Under this blueprint, the government shall undertake to improve several areas in its economy, including the manufacturing sector. To do this, government departments strive to create a healthy ecosystem where key players, including startups, can thrive and contribute to the nation’s digital transformation.
