Microsoft Indonesia and SENADA, a DAI-led project to strengthen Indonesian competitiveness, recently announced the winners of the second iMULAI competition, known as iMULAI 2.0. The competition, designed to cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship in the Indonesian business community, attracted 63 applicants.

"We are really proud to see the growth in the quality and quantity of participants for iMULAI 2.0," said Tony Chen, President Director of PT Microsoft Indonesia. "This reinforces our resolve to continue making the Indonesian IT industry more competitive globally."

Judges from Microsoft, SENADA, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds SENADA, selected the winners based on originality and potential impact on business competitiveness. The three winners of iMULAI 2.0 are:

Grafika Valley, which produced Mobile@Act, a web- and cell phone-based application to enable small business employees, customers, and suppliers to perform daily tasks such as accessing company information in real time, obtaining internal alerts and notifications, and performing authorizations and work process approvals from anywhere;

AMN (PT. Azadirachta Mandiri), which created Collaborative eBusiness System, a mobile enterprise resource planning application designed specifically for small business-to-business communication between producers and consumers; and

PT. Immedia Visi Solusi, which produced an application for internet radio broadcasting that will provide a medium for communication and marketing, giving clients free access to interactive live information that can been heard and played back as many times as needed, in a bilingual (Indonesian and English) format.

Each company wins $25,000 in innovation development funding, various Microsoft products, technology worth $8,000, and hardware valued at $2,500. Winners will also participate in the Microsoft international event, TechED, to be held in Malaysia.

As part of iMULAI 2.0, Microsoft and SENADA organized additional programs to develop the entrepreneurship skills of participants:

Capacity Building: Microsoft and SENADA presented workshops in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya on writing business plans and proposals. A national seminar on intellectual property rights and information technology market opportunities attracted 200 participants.

Microsoft Global Startup Program: Fifty of the iMULAI 2.0 applicants were deemed eligible for Microsoft software licensing in order to promote innovative application development.

SENADA, a four-year project to strengthen the competitiveness of labor-intensive light manufacturing industries, focuses on five sectors: footwear, auto parts, garments, home furnishings, and information and communications technology.