INDONESIA AWARDING CEREMONY SDG INNOVATION ACCELERATOR FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS 2024

Innovate for Impact: Transformative Solutions for the SDGs

On Thursday, 25 July 2024, approximately 250 participants from various sectors, including Indonesia Global Compact Network (IGCN) members, the UN in Indonesia, the Government, academia, civil society, and young individuals gathered at the BRIN Ballroom located at Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta to celebrate “Awarding Ceremony SDG Innovation Accelerator for Young Professionals 2024” under the theme “Innovate for Impact: Transformative Solutions for the SDGs.

The SDG Innovation Accelerator for Young Professionals (SDGI) program has been an annual initiative of the IGCN since 2023. This year, the program was held in Indonesia for the second time, involving 16 teams of young innovators from 15 companies across Indonesia consisting of mentors, champions, and innovators. The program encourages the potential of young professionals to create innovation and make a significant impact in developing new products and services addressing global challenges.

This event is supported by several parties, especially BRIN, the National Research and Innovation Agency, as the host of the event. “BRIN is committed to sustainable innovation and the crucial role of dedicated youth in shaping Indonesia’s future. To continue the empowerment of youth, BRIN collaborated with IGCN to build an Innovation Hub platform to facilitate coordination and communication among innovators,” Gatot Dwianto, Principle Expert Engineer at BRIN, represents Mego Pinandito as Deputy for Development Policy of BRIN and Laksana Tri Handoko as the Chairperson of BRIN.

The SDGI program aims to create a collaborative platform for the private sector to help achieve sustainable development goals, considering the private sector’s significant impact on the community. “Indonesia ranks fourth with 126 young innovators from 19 countries. There are now 1,759 young innovators from UN Global Compact member companies worldwide who are generating ideas and innovations by young innovators. We hope these innovations will be integrated into business operations to significantly contribute to achieving the SDGs,” Josephine Setyono, Executive Director of IGCN.

The importance of innovation and mentorship for young professionals in the private sector, emphasizing the role of the SDGI program in empowering the next generation of innovators and highlighting Indonesia’s significant position in the startup ecosystem. “We, the UN, look forward to providing technical expertise to support young innovators in institutionalizing and enabling cooperation with the government and IGCN.” Gita Sabharwal as the UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia.

The development of the SDGI program is needed in areas supporting innovation, such as human capital, research, business sophistication, and institutions. “We, as the primary role of the government and BRIN, want to build this ecosystem so these opportunities can become tangible innovations. The impact of innovation should also extend beyond profit to include social and environmental benefits.” Pungkas Bahjuri, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Social Affairs and Poverty and Head of National Secretariat of SDGs at BAPPENAS.

The UN Global Compact highlighted the collaboration and role of the private sector in fostering sustainable development. “We emphasize the transformative power of corporate innovation in addressing global challenges such as climate change, social equity, and technological advancement.” Bruna Elias, Senior Manager of SDG Innovation Accelerator.

The SDGI For Young Professionals 2024 garnered participation from 16 teams, which were shortlisted to 10 participants advancing to the semi-final stage. Next, the 10 teams presented the project to the jury resulting in the top six innovators teams. These top six innovators’ teams are invited to attend the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, which will be held alongside the UN General Assembly in New York this September. 

These 6 (six) teams are:

1. Dynapack Asia will be appointed to present their innovation at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit
2. PT Bank Jago Tbk
3. PT Domas Agrointi Prima
4. PT Mowilex Indonesia (Team 2)
5. PT Pertamina Hulu Energi
6. PT Samudera Indonesia Tbk

We highly appreciate the participation of all 16 innovators’ teams and their commitment to following the program. 

We would like to extend our appreciation to all the mentors and champions for their invaluable contributions to this program. 

Their outstanding innovations clearly show that young Indonesian professionals can contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda.