4 reasons why you should look to Indonesia to expand your business

We’re down to the last 1,5 months before our blockbuster Tech in Asia Conference happens in Jakarta on October 8 & 9. If you’d like to meet hundreds of rising startups, get some fresh insights, and learn more about Southeast Asia’s business and startup scene, this is a golden opportunity you can’t miss.

We chose Indonesia as our destination for the conference due to its immense potential. It is forecasted to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2050 and the archipelago boasts the most number of unicorns in Southeast Asia. For these reasons, Indonesia is highly regarded as a key market to win for companies with regional ambition.

If you’re still on the fence whether to expand your business to Indonesia, here are 4 reasons why you should:

1. Increase in venture deals

During 2018, Indonesian startups were reported to have secured 51 investment transactions in various sectors, including 20 transactions of seed funding, 14 transactions of Series A funding, and 11 transactions of Series B funding.

Based on Tech in Asia’s funding database, Indonesian startups received a total of US$2.03 billion in funding during January to June 2019. We also noted the most active investors in Indonesia based on the number of deals in the past two years – with East Ventures at the top of the list with 50 deals, followed by Alpha JWC Center with 12 deals, and SMDV with 10 deals.

2. Increased focus on infrastructure

Credit: Pixabay

The local government is looking to enhance the country’s physical infrastructure by improving connectivity between land, air, and sea. This would cut down on travel time as well as reduce logistics cost.

With a population of 171 million internet users and with the digital economy expected to raise Indonesia’s GDP by US$150 billion, the government is rolling out efforts to provide high-speed internet across the country to support this growth.

One of them is the Palapa Ring project–the construction of optical fibers from west to east of Indonesia, to improve internet access in the districts and municipalities. In March, the Minister of Communication and Informatics also announced a US$1.4 million budget to launch Satelit Indonesia Raya–a satellite built to bring high-speed internet to remote areas in Indonesia.

3. Rising number of accelerators and incubators for startups

Indonesia is now becoming the home of most startups in Asia.

As the number of tech startups in Indonesia rises, many accelerators and incubators are ready to nurture and grow them.

The Angel Investment Network Indonesia (ANGIN) identified 53 programs that supported the development of startups in Indonesia. These programs play an important role in the rise of local startups – for instance, the program held by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology since 2016, Gerakan 1000 Startup Digital by October 2018, had delivered 525 new startups.

4. Increasing talent pool for startups

Credit: Pexels

As Indonesia faces the 4.0 industrial revolution, building a good talent pool has become one of the country’s focus. To support the dynamic growth of the digital economy, Indonesia has several education and training institutions that seeks to build a strong talent pool for the tech and startup scene.

According to a statement by Rudiantara, Minister of Communication and Informatics, the government will invest US$7.7million into a digital talent scholarship program, which targets to provide certifications to 20,000 digital talents in 2019.

Apart from government efforts, some informal courses such as Hactiv8, Purwadhika, Algoritma and more are also chipping in to help enhance the quality of the local digital talent pool.

Interested to learn more about doing business in Indonesia and Southeast Asia?

There are a lot more reasons than the above why Indonesia remains the top destination for businesses to expand into. Despite that, doing business in Indonesia is not all roses. Challenges still abound, and learning from those who have been there, done that would help potential entrants navigate the business environment with greater ease.

Pick the brains of over 6,000 tech enthusiasts and ecosystem stakeholders at the Tech in Asia Conference. The event will also gather thought leaders from Temasek, Grab, Google Indonesia, and the likes.

If you haven’t gotten your tickets to the conference yet, don’t sit on it for too long – prices increase after September 10!