Indonesian smart city solutions startup Qlue was announced as the winner of the Best Internet of Things (IoT) Startup at the recently held ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards saw the participation of numerous startups that span a broad range of industries and ecosystems all hailing from ten Southeast Asian countries, such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. More than three thousand startups across the region were nominated for the awards, with the leading participants contesting in thirteen categories that span multiple industries and sectors. The annual event, which is organized by New Entrepreneurs Foundation (myNEF), has been putting a spotlight on the region’s innovative and vibrant startup ecosystem ever since the first Rice Bowl Awards held in 2015. The ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards is also part of the Global Startup Awards, which was established in Denmark in 2012, being its official Southeast Asian circuit.
Qlue is an Indonesia-based smart city solutions startup that leverages on geographic information systems (GIS) and IoT technology to provide and implement a resilient and robust smart city concept in Indonesia. It has been collaborating with the government of Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, ever since its establishment in 2015 with the aim of realizing the city’s smart city ambitions. Throughout its four year strategic partnership with the capital city, the IoT-enabled startup has been able to produce a number of noteworthy accomplishments that had directly impacted the city’s governance and its inhabitants, such as enhancing the performance and efficacy of the city’s government by more than sixty percent, which has in turn contributed to a forty seven percent increase in trust between the city’s citizens and its government. In terms of environmental impact, the IoT-powered solutions startup has been able to reduce the city’s potential flood points by more than ninety percent, which is a particularly remarkable achievement.
Founded by Rama Raditya, who is also the startup’s chief executive officer, and Andre Hutagalung, co-founder and chief technology officer, the Jakarta-headquartered smart city solutions startup was formed with the aim of encouraging the government and its policymakers to be more responsive, open and inclusive in addressing the needs of the people through the development and implementation of various emerging tech such as GIS and IoT. Qlue’s CTO, Andre, is tasked with developing smart solutions that are powered by the latest advancements in technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and deep learning algorithms with the aim of making the startup the leading smart city ecosystem provider for the country, capable of delivering real-time solutions and actionable insights for the government, businesses and decision makers. Thus far, the startup has partnered with more than fifty clients in Indonesia spanning across numerous sectors and industries, such as governmental agencies, private and public companies, and disaster relief organizations, to help realize the smart city concept in the nation.
Besides winning the prestigious Best IoT Startup award at the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards, Qlue has also garnered numerous other awards in recognition of its contributions and achievements towards the development of smart cities based on IoT and other advanced technology, such as being a finalist at the Startup World Cup, and being recognized as a Global Smart City Contest winner by the World Smart City Organization.
