On 9-10 January 2025, KUMPUL embarked on a strategic visit to Bangkok, Thailand, with a clear mission, to deepen cross-border collaboration among tech companies, government agencies, and NGOs and to unlock new partnership channels that can spur startup innovation across Southeast Asia. The visit underlined KUMPUL’s role not just as a local accelerator, but as a regional super-connector aiming for tech, policy, and social impact.
Techsauce MoU Sets the Stage for Regional Startup Growth
KUMPUL met with Techsauce, a key media-and-ecosystem player in Thailand’s startup world. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed, symbolising mutual commitment to build stronger platforms for startup support and innovation acceleration across Indonesia and Thailand. In a region where ecosystems often compete, formal agreements like this provide a framework for shared value, knowledge exchange, and joint events or programs.
LINE Incubator: Building Startup Pipelines Across Borders
On January 10, discussions with the LINE Incubator explored opportunities for collaboration to enhance the incubation of digital startups. With LINE’s strong footprint in messaging, social, and tech culture in Southeast Asia, aligning its incubator resources with KUMPUL’s network could help accelerate early-stage startups in both countries, facilitating access to mentorship, tech resources, and market testing outside home markets.
DEPA Showcases the Power of Government in Driving Digital Economies
That same day, KUMPUL engaged with DEPA (Digital Economy Promotion Agency) of Thailand to explore how the Thai government supports digital transformation, what policies are enabling startups, and where synergies with Indonesia might lie. Thailand’s GenAI market, for instance, is estimated to be worth $ 180 million in 2024, projected to reach $ 1.7 billion by 2030. Thailand is also among the ASEAN countries that are seeing strong investment in AI, cloud, and digital infrastructure. Such figures highlight the government’s proactive role in shaping the conditions for startups to thrive, and why collaboration with Indonesia offers a significant strategic advantage.
RECOFTC Brings Sustainability and Community into the Startup Agenda
Another highlight was the meeting at RECOFTC Headquarters, the Regional Community Forestry Training Center. Conversations focused on integrating issues of sustainability and community empowerment into the startup ecosystem. This step is significant: Southeast Asia’s economies are under increasing environmental pressure, so embedding sustainable practices and inclusive community models is not optional but strategic. Harnessing forest-dependent communities, climate tech, and sustainability could be an untapped lever for startups.
Cross-Border Collaboration Emerges as the Key to Southeast Asia’s Innovation Future
The Bangkok visit underscored that holistic cross-border collaboration is vital, extending far beyond startups and investors to include government policy frameworks, NGOs, and ecosystem media. The policy environment matters, particularly when comparing neighboring ecosystems like Indonesia and Thailand. Thailand’s startup ecosystem, for example, grew by 12.7 percent in 2025, now home to around 326 startups with funding surpassing 230 million US dollars. Indonesia, by contrast, saw its startups raise more than $ 4 billion across nearly 700 deals in 2024, underscoring the potential scale when policy, capital, and opportunity align.
The partnership between Indonesia and Thailand holds unique strategic importance. Thailand, as the region’s second-largest economy, combines a digitally savvy population with government support, while Indonesia represents one of the most dynamic and well-funded ecosystems in Asia. The MoU with Techsauce represents a concrete springboard for joint initiatives such as shared programming, cross-incubator access, and collaborative funding or events. This partnership has the potential to significantly boost the startup ecosystems in both countries, leading to a more connected and competitive entrepreneurial future in Southeast Asia.
KUMPUL as Super-Connector for the Future
KUMPUL’s Bangkok trip confirms its evolving identity: more than an accelerator or community builder, it is becoming a super-connector, a bridge between local startup ecosystems and regional, as well as global, opportunities. By bringing together players from tech firms, government agencies, incubators, ecosystem media, and NGOs focused on sustainability, KUMPUL is not just strengthening the foundations for a more connected, inclusive, competitive entrepreneurial future in Southeast Asia but also shaping the future of regional innovation.
This journey doesn’t end in Bangkok. With formal agreements, shared insights, and initial collaborations now in motion, the actual test will be how these relationships translate into programs, funding flows, startup growth, and sustainable impact. But the signs are strong: Indonesia-Thailand could become a gateway corridor for the next wave of startup innovation in the region, ushering in a new era of entrepreneurial success in Southeast Asia.
Grow Locally, Expand Globally with KUMPUL
KUMPUL accelerates growth by connecting entrepreneurs with strategic networks, exclusive resources, and expert insights. As Indonesia’s leading entrepreneurship ecosystem enabler, KUMPUL strengthens local communities while facilitating two-way global market access, helping international businesses tap into Indonesia’s dynamic ecosystem and supporting local entrepreneurs in expanding worldwide. Through impactful collaborations with key industry players, KUMPUL empowers entrepreneurs to scale efficiently, compete globally, and drive meaningful impact.
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