[unpad.ac.id, 18/9/2018] The Minister of Communication and Information of the Republic of Indonesia, who is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Unpad, Rudiantara, delivered a speech at the commemoration of Unpad 61st Anniversary, at Grha Sanusi Hardjadinata, Dipati Ukur Street No. 35 Bandung, Tuesday (18/9).
In an oration entitled “Leap Frog Indonesia Through Digital Economy”, Rudiantara revealed that the development of a digital economic ecosystem is the key to realizing the nation’s economy towards the ranks of the world’s top five economies.
“The experience of a number of startup companies or startups that have grown up like Gojek, Tokopedia, Bukalapak and Traveloka shows that information and communication technology is the main booster rocket that can make a leap frog from zero, passing many stages at once, “To reach a point farther than what other conventional companies can achieve,” said Rudiantara.
To overcome the widening welfare gap in the world today, Rudiantara also urged the world to carry out a global movement. This has been conveyed by Rudiantara at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) forum in Korea.
One way is through the adoption of innovative digital economic business models and strategies to enable shared economy, digitalization of labor, and financial inclusion. This proposal departs from the experiences of a number of Indonesian startups which prove that digitalization can be directed towards empowering the workforce through new ways.
Rudiantara also mentioned that the digital economy in Indonesia in 2020 is expected to reach 130 billion US dollars or Rp 1,831 trillion. With these achievements, the next two years the digital economy will contribute around 11% of Indonesia’s gross domestic product.
“But of course it’s not as easy as turning your palm to achieve all of that. There are at least seven main issues in the digital economy that must be a common concern. These seven issues are human capital, startup funding, taxation, cyber security, ICT infrastructure, consumer protection, and logistics, “said Rudiantara.
According to Rudiantara, what the government has to do to meet the big changes in the economy and business is to cut regulations a lot and create an ecosystem that provides broad opportunities for innovation to develop.
Rudiantara added, leadership in the digital era must be pursued with at least three principles, namely less of a regulator, by simplifying regulations, simplifying and eliminating permits; more of a facilitator, by providing affirmative policies in developing infrastructure, encouraging digital entrepreneurship, and growing digital economic talents; and more of an accelerator, by accelerating the growth of new digital startups and other business sectors, especially MSMEs.
“The government and the education world must work hand in hand to grow and assist young people to have a passion for technology and become a workforce that has digital skills that are able to view community problems as a challenge to be solved and monetized,” said Rudiantara.
Some time ago, Gojek Indonesia launched Go-Viet in Hanoi, Vietnam. According to Rudiantara, this showed the ability of the nation’s younger generation to solve the problems of modern humanity.
“In the range of the digital economy that is still very young, our nation’s younger people have been able to carve out legacy that is not only sweet to remember, but also surely will inspire the achievements of other nationals in the digital realm of the world,” said Rudiantara.
According to him, this phenomenon also proved that digital space in Indonesia has the same opportunities as other countries in the world. In an increasingly digital world, the perspective of the market must be broader.
Meanwhile, to help prepare Indonesia’s human resources in supporting digital transformation and improving the digital economy, in the near future the Ministry of Communication and Information will launch “Digital Talent Scholarship”. This program is in the form of intensive training scholarships by holding five universities in Indonesia, including Unpad.
Report by Artanti Hendriyana / am | Translated by dfa
