Adi Reza and Annisa Wibi, Global Innovation in Leather from Mushroom Fibers

The startup company founded by Adi Reza Nugroho, Annisa Wibi Ismarlanti, and friends in Bandung, West Java, since 2015 focuses on creating positive social impact. With a touch of innovative technology, they process mushrooms and agricultural waste into environmentally friendly and sustainable leather sheets and furniture materials.

Adi Reza Nugroho and Annisa Wibi Ismarlanti are two of the five co-founders of a startup company (start up) with the name Mycotech Lab (MYCL). This company succeeded in getting grant funding of 250,000 Singapore dollars or around Rp. 2.9 billion at the 2024 Asian Philanthropy Conference or Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS) in Singapore, 15-17 April.

Met on the sidelines of the PAS 2024 event at Expo Sands & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, Tuesday (16/4/2024), Adi and Annisa looked happy. The day before, MYCL was announced as one of the participants in the first group of the amplifier mentoring program. This program is organized by the Center for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP) and the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA), which is an ecosystem entity Temasek Trust, Singapore.

Adi, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MYCL, said that their company participated in the amplifier mentoring program after receiving input from one of the investors. They then make an application and follow a strict selection process.

"We were lucky that we were recommended to take part and were finally able to qualify," he said.

To get grant funding and mentoring programs from experts, MYCL had to compete with nearly 140 applications from startup companies from 35 countries. In the end, only five start ups were selected. Two of them are from Indonesia, while the other three are based in the United States, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

According to Annisa, MYCL is a social enterprise that focuses on creating positive social impacts. MYCL tries to save the Earth by offering a sustainable alternative through the use of fungal fiber, called mycelium, as a substitute for animal leather. They use oyster mushroom waste, which has often been burned because it is not used.

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With a processing system similar to tempeh, MYCL binds mycelium with agricultural waste, such as corn cobs and sawdust, then grows it into a material called mylea or mycelium leather (mycelium skin) . This leather material is fireproof, waterproof and flexible, and can even be transformed into various fashion products.

"The surface of this mycelium has some that are smooth and some that are slightly rough. Its quality is similar to conventional leather, as it can be used for shoes, sandals, bags, car seats, and others," said the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MYCL.

Apart from mycelium skin, MYCL also produces mycelium composite (mycelium composite). This composite does not use glue and is relatively light, but is still strong so it can be used for furniture, for example chairs.

"A chair made from mycelium composite which weighs only 3 kilograms can support a load of up to 800 kilograms," said Annisa.

Through research

Adi stated that the development of products through mycelium technology began in 2015 when MYCL was established. He and Annisa, along with three other colleagues, Robby Zidna Ilman, Ronaldiaz Hartantyo, and M Arkha Bentangan, started MYCL from a "Growbox" business in 2013. Growbox is a planting media business that educates consumers to grow their own mushrooms.

"After a year of running the Growbox business, we conducted in-depth research on mushrooms because we noticed that the mushroom growing media gradually hardened. We tried to create a skin, and it turned out to be validated, and then further perfected," he said.

In research and development of products from mycelium, MYCL collaborated with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Bandung Institute of Technology, and Singapore's Future Cities Laboratory, which collaborated with Switzerland's Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich).

Even though Indonesia is rich in agriculture, only 1 percent of agricultural waste is turned into compost. Through the amplifier program, we want to overcome the “valley of death” and increase the impact of our business.

According to Annisa, their product development research did not immediately succeed. After a few failures, they finally managed to produce mycelium leather in 2018. This leather product then began to be commercialized in 2020 and was well-received by both domestic and international markets.

Starting in 2020, according to Adi, there are already more than 500 active consumers of MYCL products. Around 30 percent of them are returning customers or regular clients.

"Our customers come from 48 countries. "The three biggest are from Japan, Singapore and the United States," he said.

In the domestic market, MYCL has also collaborated with several fashion brands in Bandung. They produce various kinds of fashion products, ranging from shoes, sandals, wallets, watch straps, to bags. Since 2021, MYCL products have also appeared at Paris Fashion Week.

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”Throughout 2023, we are shipping 2,000 square feet (square feet) of mylea to customers. "If all the leather was made into shoes, it would be approximately the equivalent of 600 pairs of shoes," said Adi.

He continued, their turnover in 2023 will be around 150,000-180,000 US dollars. The turnover is still relatively small because production capacity is also limited. MYCL's new production capacity is around 10,000 square feet per year involving around 60 workers.

"This is still small because the shoe industry can get 1 million square feet for one order," said Adi.

Sell ​​technology

According to Adi, MYCL has now taken the form of a limited liability company under the name PT Miko Bahtera Nusantara. This biotechnology company's certified B Corp products are already patented. Its products are also now being produced in Japan by MYCL Japan, which has obtained technology licenses from MYCL Indonesia.

"The MYCL product is now being produced in Japan with technology licensing from us. So, Indonesia will not only be selling commodities in the future, but also selling technology," said Adi.

Annisa said that their main goal when starting MYCL was simple, namely to make a meaningful impact on the world by utilizing the potential of agricultural waste in Indonesia, most of which has not been utilized.

"Even though Indonesia is rich in agriculture, only 1 percent of agricultural waste is converted into compost. "Through the amplifier program, we want to overcome the 'valley of death' and increase the impact of our business," he said.

With a large grant from the amplifier program, Adi and Annisa are determined to develop MYCL's business and products. “The main focus is more on business development or commercialization. "This is because the potential is very large," said Adi.

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Born: Malang, March 17 1989

Education: Bachelor of Architecture, Bandung Institute of Technology (graduated 2012)

Job : Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mycotech Lab (MYCL)

Born: Bandung, March 15 1989

Education :

• Bachelor of Economics, Padjadjaran University (2008-2012)
• Short Course Program at Flinders University, Australia (2018)

Job : Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mycotech Lab (MYCL)