Indonesia hopes startups play big role in free school lunch plan

JAKARTA -- Indonesia wants local tech startups to play an important role in a nationwide free school lunch program that the incoming administration is preparing, with some companies already keen to expand their businesses by participating in the billion-dollar project.

President-elect and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who will succeed incumbent leader Joko Widodo in October, promised ahead of February's presidential election to provide free school lunches and milk to 78.5 million students at some 400,000 schools across the country, aiming to reduce malnutrition and stunted growth among children.