An expert panel of judges selected the following four companies as winners, based on the viability of the business model and the owner’s entrepreneurial acumen:

Studio Hiji from Tangerang, Banten, founded by Abie Abdillah, was selected as the start-up with the greatest potential, and received funding of IDR 50 million (US $3,600). Studio Hiji is a furniture design company which specialises in creating contemporary furniture made from rattan. 80% of the world’s rattan comes from Indonesia, and it is Abie’s aim to increase the appreciation of Indonesian rattan and for it to become a commodity for local citizens. Working closely with architects and interior designers, Abie has already generated a significant amount of orders for his products.

The first runner up prize of IDR 40 million (US $2,800) went to Oriflakes, founded by Suko Triyono from Yogyakarta. Operating his company ‘Serelia Indonesia’ in the healthy food and drink sector, Suko started his cereal brand Oriflakes due to his concern over the over reliance on rice as a staple food in Indonesia. In order to reduce Indonesia’s dependence on rice, Suko produces his cereal flakes from yams.

A company that produces crispy seafood snacks was awarded IDR 30 million (US $2,100) as the second runner up. Aang Permana from Cianjur, started his company Crispy Ikan to turn anchovies – an abundant local fish but an often maligned and ignored food source due to its powerful smell - into a delicious nutritious snack. Eventually, Aang aims to make Crispy Ikan the leading food brand from Cianjur.

The final award for the ‘Most Impactful Start-up Business’ category, and IDR 25 million (US $1,800) went to an innovative waste management company called Greenna. Founded by Nina Nuraniyah from Bogor, Greenna provides a range of waste management services from recycling plastic bottles and packaging, turning them into either shredded plastic or into new products such as wallets and pencil cases. Nina also provides waste management education in the community, helping to mitigate environmental problems and provide imaginative waste management solutions for the whole community.

The Shell LiveWIRE Indonesia programme is aligned with efforts by the government to increase the number of local entrepreneurs. To quote data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMB, the number of national entrepreneurs is 1.6% of the total population and this number is projected to grow to 2% this year.

“The small and medium businesses founded by local entrepreneurs have proven to be a resilient sector in facing various challenges and economic conditions marred by uncertainty. In situations such as these, the presence of local entrepreneurs in locations throughout Indonesia, strongly contributes in supporting the national economy. Raw material consumption by local businesses for production, particularly those from the local area, will help drive the circulation of money at the local level, which will create a multiplier effect and contribute in boosting economic growth,” said CEO and Country Chairman of PT Shell Indonesia, Darwin Silalahi.

“We are proud to have successfully selected ten young potential entrepreneurs that have contributed in their local area in creating jobs and being involved in boosting economic growth. Indonesia needs many more young entrepreneurs like them, and Shell Indonesia, through our Shell LiveWIRE programme, is committed to continuously be active in developing young entrepreneurs; increase their quality so that they will become resilient businesspeople able to build businesses that are durable and sustainable,” continued Darwin.

Commenting on the impact the support from Shell LiveWIRE Indonesia has had on his business, Abie Abdillah from Studio Hiji said, “Networking is one of the keys to success for young companies like ours, and we are grateful to Shell for providing a platform to synergize, that through this programme, we have been provided the opportunity to expand our business network, not just on the national level, but also at the international level.”

Explaining the selection of the winners by the judges, Dolly Lesmana, Managing Director of Arka Media, who is a representative of the Shell LiveWIRE Business Startup Awards 2015 panel of judges said, “The winners were selected after a rigorous judging process. We did not judge from only the business aspect, but we also took account of the entrepreneur’s character, product potential, their future plans, including their creativity in facing global challenges.”

All of the winners and finalists have the opportunity to participate in a Shell LiveWIRE business coaching programme where they will receive intensive entrepreneurship guidance from business coaches. In addition, as part of the international entrepreneurship programme, the winners and finalists will also receive the opportunity to join Shell LiveWIRE International’s Let’s Go Trade programme, where successful participants will have the opportunity to access funding to enable them to visit a foreign market to develop international trading opportunities for their business.

To meet each of the Shell LiveWIRE Indonesia 2015 finalists, please click here.