Jakarta, Indonesia - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in conjunction with Microsoft Indonesia today launched iMULAI 3.0, a national open source software competition. iMULAI 3.0 aims to promote local entrepreneurs that utilize information technology (IT) to create new and innovative businesses.

Through iMULAI 3.0, USAID and Microsoft continue to support entrepreneurship in the local software sector, encouraging IT startups to deliver business innovations to meet local demand.

“Entrepreneurship is one of the fastest growing areas of our Comprehensive Partnership, successfully promoting stronger ties and greater people to people engagement to the benefit of both our economies,” explained Ambassador Scot Marciel.

USAID Mission Director Walter North added, “The goal of our contribution to the iMULAI program is to help local IT start-ups transform their innovative ideas into real business solutions. We want to promote Indonesia as a leading global innovator.”

The 15 IMULAI 3.0 winners will receive Microsoft software valued at $250,000 as part of Microsoft’s BizSpark program for IT startups hardware to support their businesses and participation in special boot camps to help them develop their business innovation. Winners will retain proprietary rights to their innovations and have the opportunity to promote their innovative products to a group of local and global venture capitalists.

This initiative is just one example of our continuing, and growing engagement with Indonesia on entrepreneurship.  The United States is working closely with Indonesian government and private sector leaders to develop the Global Entrepreneurship Program Indonesia (GEPI).  This includes planning an entrepreneurship trade mission later this year to introduce successful American investors and entrepreneurs with their Indonesian counterparts.  We also are sponsoring a business plan competition and entrepreneurship "boot camp" that will be broadcast on Metro TV to identify promising Indonesian innovators and entrepreneurs, inviting well-known speakers on entrepreneurship to visit Indonesia, and funding opportunities for Indonesian entrepreneurs to travel to the U.S. to build ties with U.S. counterparts. 

Participants are welcome to register for the iMULAI competition at www.IMULAI.org from January 25 to March 20, 2011.  For further information on iMULAI 3.0, please contact:
Yvonne Tirtoprodjo : tel.: +62 811 900 221.