Build Connections That Matter – Your Next Leap Starts at NTT Startup Challenge

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Welcome to NSC (NTT Startup Challenge), the premier platform nurturing the Startup Ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Since 2016, we've sparked over 3,300 applications, empowering 50 startups towards groundbreaking business development. This year, NTT Holdings and NTT Group companies proudly host the event, amplifying our dedication to nurturing innovation. Join us to unlock dynamic partnerships, as NTT shares its extensive resources to drive innovation and growth across SEA and Japan.

History of
NTT Startup Challenge

Participants

6,400

Startups

3,300

Countries

Partners

250

Direct Access to Industry Leaders and Capital

Step into the NSC 2024 where you can engage face-to-face with diverse array of industry leaders, potential partners, and fellow innovators. This platform offers a rare chance to secure critical funding, gain valuable insights, and forge partnerships that can dramatically accelerate your startup's growth and visibility in the industry.

Showcase Your Startup Among the Best

Compete and stand out among 400 regional startups for a chance to be one of the 10 finalists at NSC 2024. Selected by NTT, these top startups gain spotlight exposure, attracting support and recognition that can catapult your business to the forefront of the SEA startup scene.

Leverage NTT’s Ecosystem for Growth

NSC 2024 is powered by a coalition of NTT group companies, providing a unique platform to access comprehensive resources, technologies, and partnerships. Exploit this collective strength to scale your startup across SEA and Japan, exploring new dimensions in Fintech, Agritech, AI and more.

Speakers & Judges

Kuan Hsu

KK Fund

Kuan Hsu is the General Partner of KK Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm backing visionary entrepreneurs to address Southeast Asia's most pressing challenges through innovation and leadership.

Akie Iriyama

Waseda University

Akie Iriyama is a professor at Waseda Business School. His research in strategic management, international business, and entrepreneurship has been published in prestigious journals. Previously, he worked as an industrial economist and consultant at Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc. in Japan.

Antonny Liem

GDP Venture

Antonny is a founding partner at GDP Venture. Technology, marketing, people, and execution have driven his professional journey. He began in Enterprise IT before joining SemutApi Colony as Managing Director in 2005, transforming it into a digital marketing agency. In 2010, he started MerahPutih Incubator, the seed investment arm of GDP Venture.

Gary Khoeng

Vertex Ventures

Gary Khoeng is a Partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, leading the Indonesian team. He focuses on Indonesia's startup ecosystem. Before joining Vertex, Gary invested in early-stage opportunities at an Indonesian fund across sectors like e-Commerce and Fintech. Prior to that, he worked at Citigroup in New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and at the Boston Consulting Group in Jakarta, covering FMCG and Financial Services.

Victor Lesmana

Bukalapak

Victor Lesmana is the CEO of BukaFinancial & Commerce. He is a seasoned business leader with extensive experience in Financial Services, Technology, Consumer Goods, M&A, and Supply Chain, gained through roles at IBM and BCG. He leads Bukalapak's core divisions, including Marketplace, Digital Products, Logistics, Payment, FinTech, and New Businesses.

Yuma Kotake

NTT DOCOMO Ventures

Yuma Kotake is the director of NTT Docomo Ventures, a corporate venture capital of NTT Group, and responsible for investment in Southeast Asia. He also has more than 10 years of experience as in-house lawyer dealing with cross border M&A and alliance.

Ken Katsuyama

NTT Holdings

Ken Katsuyama is the Senior Vice President, Head of Global Business at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). His current responsibility is leading global business of the whole NTT group. In addition, he is a member of the board of directors of NTT DATA, Inc., a major operating company of NTT group covering outside of Japan.

Awards

$ 10,000

$ 5,000

$ 3,000

Prizes listed are in USD (U.S. Dollars)

NTT’s Supports/Assets

Potential Investment Opportunities:
Explore the possibility of investments through NTT's corporate ventures, tailored to promising startups seeking to scale.
Enhanced Visibility and PR Support:
Gain significant exposure through high-profile PR activities and NTT’s media channels, boosting your startup's public profile.
Comprehensive Resource Access:
Utilize cutting-edge co-working spaces and access a variety of strategic resources that support your technological and business advancement.

Sales and Marketing Support:
Assistance with customer referrals, sales channel provision, and test marketing strategies.
Exclusive Networking Opportunities:
Connect with key industry leaders, government officials, and influential venture capitalists through NTT’s extensive global networks.
Empowering Startups through *Venture Client Model:
Leverage NTT's commitment to the Venture Client model, offering startups direct collaboration opportunities to refine and scale their innovations with our extensive resources and expertise.
*Venture Client Model: Enterprises become startups' clients, leveraging startups’ solutions to accelerate innovation and drive mutual growth

Our Community Speaks

"NTT Startup Challenge has helped Ravenry open many doors especially while we were in our early stages. NTT Startup Challenge helped us access the Japanese market, providing us with insights and business matching opportunities. As a result of that, we very quickly managed to acquire several long-term Japanese organisations as clients. NTT Startup Challenge has continued to engage Ravenry with valuable collaboration and networking opportunities since we participated in 2018. We are proud participants of the program, and look forward to continuing our relationship with NTT as we grow our business."
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— Ricky Willianto, Co-founder of Ravenry

“As a trusted partner of NTT, Qontak since 2017 has been able to leverage NTTs company ecosystem, a wide network of enterprise connections and a number of customers. We sincerely thank NTT for joint go-to market support over the years and for more collaborations in the future. The NTT startup challenge was especially helpful and the pinnacle of our working relationship having bridged over 400 tech companies to jointly collaborate and cross sell.”
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— Brendan Rakphongphairoj, CIO at Mekari