Director of The Greater Hub SBM ITB, Dr. Dina Dellyana, as the initiator revealed that the main purpose of this annual activity was to improve and flourish the startup ecosystem in Indonesia. In addition, the increasing number of startups in and around Indonesia required adequate funding, yet the expenditure had been quite limited. Therefore, this event served as an opportunity for these startups to showcase their full potential.

To develop its capability in providing better services and increasing collaboration between stakeholders of the startup ecosystem in Indonesia, The Greater Hub SBM ITB initiated a "Business Pitching" event. This event brought together the best startups that have passed the selection with investors. Through the event, it was expected that these startups would be able to successfully grow in the future.

The Greater Hub SBM ITB collaborated with LPIK ITB, an institution established to encourage the utilization of research in higher education. LPIK ITB had also been working with the Startup Bandung community which was established in 2015 with members of more than 100 startups domiciled in Bandung. Moreover, the collaboration involved Geek Hunter and Block71 Innovation Factory. The former is the leading IT specialty job recruitment startup from Bandung, which was established in July 2013. The latter is a startup that has been helping to build a business ecosystem in Bandung.

This event, having entered its fourth year, aimed to provide pitching opportunities for startups throughout Indonesia and facilitate those that needed funding support for their business development.

In addition, the event was designed to be a learning platform for young people, startup enthusiasts, and new entrepreneurs. This annual event was also a networking activity between fellow startups, venture capital, invited guests, and the general public who have an interest in startups.

The event, being conducted hybrid (both online and offline at Center for Research and Community Services ITB building), was opened by Dina Dellyana as the Director of The Greater Hub SBM ITB as well as with opening remarks given by the Dean of SBM ITB and the Chairperson of LPIK ITB. It was later continued with the main agenda, a pitching session from the chosen 20 startups. Each startup was given 5 minutes for pitching and 2 minutes for interacting with the investors.

From 69 startups that registered, only the best 20 were selected. These chosen startups came up with inventive and technology-based ideas as a solution to solve problems in Indonesia. Some of them operate in categories such as FinTech, HR-Tech, Internet of Things (IoT), Waste Management, Environment-Sustainable Product, Life Science, and Skincare & Beauty.

The aforementioned 20 startups were IJO, Huniflex, Tongbos, Cody Kit, JUBELO, Investly, Menno, Kulaku - Coconut Energy Indonesia, Cooklative, Reekan, Harmoniz, LesQ, iWindMSS (Smart Wind Turbine), Titiktemu.co.id, Karla Bionics, Konsela, Belajardeen, Finca, Alture Beauty and Wellness, and Widya Skilloka.

Meanwhile, investors that had confirmed to attend the event consisted of 28 invited Venture Capital (VC) as well as domestic and foreign angel investors, namely 1982 VC, Alpha JWC Ventures, Alpha Momentum Indonesia, Antler, Arise VC, Bayu Syerli, Dream Incubator, East Venture, Endeavor, Ficus VC, Finch Capital, Future Play, Go-Ventures, Ideosource Entertainment, Javas Venture, MDI Ventures, Meet Ventures, Moonshot Ventures, Northstar, Open Space Venture, Salim Group, STRIVE, Supernovae, Sweef Capital, Telkomsel Corporate Accelerator (Tinc), TMI, Venturra Discovery, and Vertex Ventures.

Translator: Ariq Ramadhan Teruna (Chemical Engineering, 2021)