Donation Movement by Venture Capital Firms

Melissa Irene, one of proud alumni, who is now a partner at East Ventures, was recently interviewed by KompasTV regarding donation movement by venture capital firms during covid-19 pandemic. Normally, venture capital firms conduct fundraising activities for startup companies to develop their business. Now, during this time, they try to fundraise to help the government combat covid-19 through digital ecosystem. So far, there have been thousands of donors who have participated in a movement called Indonesia Pasti Bisa (https://indonesiapastibisa.com/), which is initiated by East Ventures. They are aiming to achieve Rp 10 billion donation, which will be used to fund test kits production and conduct research on vaccine development. To maintain the accountability of the fundraising movement, they cooperate with KoinWorks, a peer-to-peer lending company, and they will also be audited by one of the big four audit firms. Their activities can also be accessed through IDN media to fulfil the transparency criteria. Aside from supporting one of BPPT’s task forces, they also collaborate with other parties, such as Bio Farma and I3L, to ensure the public that the products have undergone the required tests as performed by credible institutions. Hopefully this movement will be a significant contribution to assist the Indonesian government in addressing this global pandemic.

(AL)