This means that the six finalists who have been selected to pitch live at WIT Indonesia next week (March 27) will have access to AirAsia’s LaunchLab, which gives start-ups a bridge between their product and the market, said Arun Verma, head of technology and innovation at AirAsia.

Clarence Lee, who works on Verma’s team which bridges companies within the group, will join the panel of judges at the WIT Start-Up Pitch in Jakarta next week.

“We are delighted to continue working with WIT to spark entrepreneurship and innovation in travel,” said Lee. “We are open to new ideas and we are keen to explore with entrepreneurs within the WIT Start-Up programme on how they can test Proof of Concept (POC) with AirAsia or if there are any other ways we can work together.”

Currently, the POC platform is only on AirAsia Chrome App – “but if the product or solution is not suitable, we will explore other angles,” said Lee.

While the AirAsia Chrome App is not the largest live booking platform in AirAsia, Lee said it has a healthy number of unique visitors a month ideal for live POC.

“The primary point in selecting a POC partner would be to see if the product/solution will be able to benefit AirAsia’s existing business in terms of revenue, customer experience and any type of improvements.”

But Lee said the POC can also be used to evaluate potential partnerships and commercial arrangements – be it revenue share or flat rate per transaction – will be discussed on a case by case basis.

“At times maybe two different POC s could work together – we will try to bring the two companies together to develop a better offering to market.

“AirAsia should be looked at as a platform to get real-world feedback from customers.”

A finalist from last year’s WIT Start-Up Pitch, Bistip, the peer-to-peer courier marketplace, is due to undertake a POC on the AirAsia Chrome App platform.

This partnership covers all entrepreneurs selected to pitch live at the various WIT Start-Up Pitches this year, including the first one at WIT Japan on May 24 and at the WIT Conference in Singapore, Oct 21-23. (Submissions for the WIT Japan Pitch will be closed March 31; submit here.)

“As we expand the WIT Start-Up Pitch to Indonesia and Japan this year, we felt it was time to have a more formal structure by which our entrepreneurs can actually test their ideas,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, editor and founder of WIT.

“This is an opportunity that’s open not only to the winners but all finalists – all they have to do is express their interest to us. We will leave it to AirAsia to pick out the ideas that interest them. At the same time, entrepreneurs should take advantage of this platform. To be able to test your idea with one of Asia’s largest travel brands is priceless for any start-up.”

Sign up for WIT Indonesia here