Tech Competition in China: Representing Indonesia, Aruna the First Runner Up in the Final Round

Guangzhou, China – Following Aruna’s victory at the “SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2023” which was announced back on October 16, 2023 in Beijing, Aruna was again invited to Guangzhou by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China to go on the final stage on November 29 to December 1, 2023. On the agenda, which also aimed to promote innovation, entrepreneurial environment, and incentive regulations related to sustainable investment, Aruna became the 1st runner up champion globally. Aruna was the only company representing Indonesia in the contest.

Previously, Aruna and the other participants who passed the final round were asked to work on a project as a simulation of their business idea development and validation. In particular, Aruna raised the discussion about the “Digital Supply Chain Challenge”. Li Yan, Deputy Director General of China’s Center for the Promotion of SME Development, said, “The basic value, objectives, and project execution are some of the most rated points in this competition. Their idea should be one step or even five steps further than what they have started at this time. Then, we see: is it right at the pain points experienced by their market? Because that is what usually affects the lives of their business. We’ve seen this in those companies.”

Dr. Peter Finn, the CEO and Co-Founder of one of the Singaporean participants who also joined the contest, said, “Aruna and the company I represent actually have the same intersection. Leveraging AI technology, we focus on innovating blockchain technology and distributed computing, which we combine with carbon credit reductions. The goal is to create a circular economy and renewable energy transition. The base is ESG, although the approach and business ecosystem are somewhat different. Aruna is more about empowering fishers and acting as a supply chain aggregator. With this agenda, we both hope that we can increasingly run towards a better future. Wish each other luck.”

On the same agenda, Aruna and the other contestants were asked to be mentors for several startup companies from China that had been selected to take part in this contest. With the case of a similar simulation project, they then became a team fostered by the four contestants of the “SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2023”, including by Aruna. “We’re also talking about sharing here, so it’s not just about competition. This is the balance point. Winning as the first runner up, we were also having the opportunity to share knowledge and experience for a number of selected startups in China. Hopefully by representing Indonesia in this event, Aruna can participate in actualizing a better and promising future, especially for Indonesian coastal communities who have joined our ecosystem,” concluded Utari Octavianty, the Co-Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer of Aruna.