SoCultures Magazine 2018 SoCultures Magazine Jan-Feb 2019 | Page 17

The young nation with an average age of 28 and with pretty clued-in urban middle-class growing rapidly has much to look forward to the technology. It’s fast becoming the core of life, work, culture and identity in Indonesia … Not only the urbane millennials, but the population outside the cities also is a keen and eager clientage of digital revolution. And yes, it has a great potential, as shown by the rise of Go-Jek and Grab, ride-sharing companies.  In mid-2016 Go-Jek raised $550 million in new capital, giving it a value of $1.3 billion. Their success has fuelled the population using smart phones. Politically, digital platforms are about being democratic. The space to voice opinions, expressions, organize mass rallies, assist with election monitoring etc are fostering the idea of a more connected and modern Indonesia. Indonesia’s market is expected to achieve an annual growth of 50% yearly in e-commerce. Its growth is so phenomenal that it’s been placed after global e-commerce juggernauts, China and India. Not only e-commerce, other digital avenues are doing well and are Hot bargains.   Heavily funded, Bukalapak, a billion-dollar company helping street stall traders to tap the internet, and Warung Pintar, another startup helping digitize the country’s vendors, has pulled in $27.5 million for growth. Another major trend observed is emergence and increased acceptance of        blockchain technology providers in the payments industry. The Indonesian government has a vision to accelerate the position of Indonesia as the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia's in 2020.   The 1,000 technopreneurs with a business valuation of USD10 billion and e-commerce value of USD130 billion will be promoted. 17 SOCULTURES JAN-FEB2019