Google Chairman Eric Schmidt: Asia is the future, not the U.S

Eric Schmidt addresses the crowd at the Regional Entrepreneur Summit in Bali

“Entrepreneurs never give up.” That’s the opening line Google chairman Eric Schmidt said in front of an Indonesian crowd at the start of his keynote in the Regional Entrepreneur Summit (RES) in Bali, Indonesia. Schmidt thinks that Indonesia can be the next Brazil. “Indonesia has grown so quickly… at a growth rate that Americans will die for,” said Schmidt. “You know what I mean.”

Schmidt explained that Indonesia has a loud democracy, a flourishing society, and an integrated media. With so many people on Facebook and Twitter, Indonesia is indeed a huge social media nation. But Schmidt asserted (albeit in a somewhat tongue in cheek manner) that Google is number one in the Indonesia, not Facebook or Twitter. And of course the crowd laughed.

Despite a high number of web users, Schmidt says that Indonesia has a lot of room for growth. He points out that the country only has 18 percent Internet penetration but believes there will be a web explosion in the country soon.

In some way Indonesia is sort of similar to the United States: a homogeneous market, a large population, and it’s very connected. Schmidt says that a new generation of entrepreneurs will rise in Indonesia — and that’s pretty much what is already happening right now, with so many great start-ups that have mushroomed over the years.

Schmidt points out an example stating that an app built by an Indonesian who used to study in Japan recently hit the top 10 most-downloaded app list in the U.S. Well, that seriously sounds familiar! The app, which we covered only recently, is Hachiko by Touchten.

All in all, Schmidt is very optimistic about the tech growth in Indonesia and Asia – “Asia is the future, not the U.S.,” he said.