Indonesia’s Oldest Bank Taps Veteran Venture Capitalist
- BRI starts corporate venture fund, targeting $250 million
- Nicko Widjaja, outgoing CEO of MDI, will run BRI Ventures
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When Nicko Widjaja was hired to run the venture capital arm of Indonesia’s biggest telecommunication services provider in 2015, corporate venture capital investing had a reputation for being slow, bureaucratic and generating lackluster returns.
But in four years, he has made it work. The first venture fund of state-owned PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, called MDI Ventures, has returned 40% this year after a 28% gain in 2018, according to the company. Widjaja backed 32 startups through MDI Ventures and exited from five through sales and initial public offerings. They include Wavecell Pte. and Red Dot Payment Pte.