Telkomsel, the largest mobile operator in Indonesia, established a $40 million investment fund in collaboration with its venture capital initiative MDI Ventures and Singtel’s innovation arm Innov8.

The fund will be managed by Telkomsel Mitra Inovasi (TMI), a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of Telkomsel, and will invest in promising new companies with the aim of accelerating their growth by giving them access to its ecosystems, assets and competencies, the operator said in a statement.

Telkomsel president director Ririek Adriansyah said: “We recognise that Southeast Asia is a region that is growing very fast. Our collaboration through TMI will provide Telkomsel the ability to bring engagement models that are more flexible, responsive and reliable for start-ups looking for access to our strategic capital, and at the same time can provide a better user experience with mutually beneficial cooperation in the long term.”

TMI CEO Andi Kristianto said it will work with start-ups in building strategic plans to maximise long-term value.

Singapore-based Singtel owns a 35 per cent stake in Telkomsel, which had nearly a 53 per cent market share in Indonesia by subscribers, Q1 data from GSMA Intelligence showed.