Indonesia has been experiencing strong economic growth in the past few years because of digital inclusion. Its economy has been growing at a steady rate of five percent per year and is expected to come as the fourth largest economy in the world by the year 2050. The flourishing economy has brought about a growing middle class that is digitally savvy. In fact, Indonesia has a population of over 260 million people, with about 79 million active social media users. Because of this, tech startups in Indonesia are gaining a lot of attention and funding from local and international investors. Great startup companies have cropped up in the past few years, forever changing the economic landscape of the country.
The following is the Bold Business list of Indonesia’s top startups for 2018:
Push From Indonesian Government
In 2016, following a tumultuous year of economic retrenchment, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo determined that harnessing technology is the gamechanger the country needed. The Widodo administration sees technology as one of the drivers that could provide significant growth. It introduced an e-commerce roadmap, ten economic policy packages, and provided financing for small and medium businesses and tech startups. The Indonesian government was previously closed off foreign investments but has since then eased these limitations.
There has been so much help from the Indonesian Stock Exchange and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have facilitated incubators for startups in Jakarta and Bali. This would help these great startup companies have access to consultants, investors, accountants, lawyers, and investors in preparation for their IPO.
Widodo visited Silicon Valley in February 2016, where he obtained the commitment from Google to assist in training 100,000 mobile app developers. He also planned to produce 1,000 tech entrepreneurs by the year 2020. He also sought the help of Twitter and Facebook to ramp up their initiatives in Indonesia. Widodo also paid a visit to Plug and Play, one of the best tech accelerators in the United States.
Indonesia’s Nascent Digital Revolution
Four technologies are driving the digital revolution in Indonesia. The many great startup companies are intelligently utilizing them to elevate the country’s impact on the global economic stage. First is mobile devices and the Internet. Smartphones have become the number one device for accessing the Internet. In Indonesia, and the rest of the world most online traffic comes from mobile devices.
Second, there is cloud technology. As cheaper and faster Internet connections have been adopted, so has remote computing power. This has helped businesses increase efficiency, storage capacity, and improve cash flow.
Third, IoT’s prevalence has affected Indonesian businesses and homes. As Internet penetration has increased, connected devices have also been adopted. This helps create an advanced ecosystem that lays the foundation for other tech implementation in the future.
Lastly, there’s big data and advanced analytics. Big data has been instrumental in providing insights into the thousands and millions of data gathered with every online transaction.
These four disruptions are intertwined, and together are the key to accelerating Indonesia’s growth and impact in the global economy. Having a strong foundation in these technologies makes investments and innovations flourish across the country. However, while Indonesia has had impressive advancements, it still has a long way to go before it fully realizes its digital revolution.
New Batch of Great Startup Companies
What we mentioned are only a few of the many great startup companies that are enriching the flourishing Indonesian economy. They are creating great innovations, efficiencies, and jobs like never before, consequently reshaping the country’s local and global economic impact. Indonesia is expected to be the next hub for tech companies because of its high economic growth, large population, and untapped market potential. The startup landscape in Indonesia doesn’t just replicate other successful businesses like e-hailing or e-commerce, but is bold in exploring other markets, addressing many different needs of its vast population.
