Gojek mafia makes waves across Indonesian startup scene

In Silicon Valley, the term “PayPal Mafia” was popularized by Fortune magazine in 2007. It refers to the payments company’s alumni who have gone on to start, lead, or back other tech companies. The pack consists of prominent names including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Reid Hoffman.

Nadiem Makarim (right) / Photo credit: Gojek

As the Indonesian startup ecosystem matures, it appears that the country has produced its own tech mafia, featuring some of the former top execs at the country’s biggest startup, Gojek.

Nadiem Makarim, who founded the ride-hailing giant, was appointed last year to become the education minister of Indonesia. Meanwhile, other former Gojek executives have either built their own companies or assumed executive roles at other local startups.

The increasing digital economic opportunities in Indonesia, the biggest digital market in Southeast Asia, is whetting the appetite of the Gojek mafia. The country’s internet-based economy’s gross merchandise value (GMV) is expected to reach US$133 billion in 2025 from US$40 billion last year, according to estimates by Google, Temasek, and Bain. Goldman Sachs forecasts an even brighter future: US$228 billion GMV by 2025.

Here are the 10 members of the Gojek mafia. Four of them came from GoLife, Gojek’s lifestyle app which discontinued most services last year due to stagnant growth.

Rohan Monga

Rohan Monga (left) / Photo credit: Zenius

Rohan Monga joined Gojek in 2015 as the startup’s chief operating officer. He previously worked as senior program manager at Amazon Japan for two years.

Later, Monga was appointed as head of international to oversee Gojek’s overseas expansion. He left Gojek in August 2018, shortly before the company launched its services in Vietnam and Thailand.

In May 2019, he invested in edtech startup Zenius and then jumped in to become the company’s CEO three months later. Under his leadership, Zenius raised US$20 million in a series A funding round from Northstar Group and other investors.

Dayu Dara Permata

Dayu Dara Permata / Photo credit: GE

Dayu Dara Permata was the former head of GoLife, Gojek’s lifestyle app. She joined the company in its early days in 2015 after working at McKinsey & Company for four years. She left the Indonesian super app in November 2019, following Gojek’s decision to discontinue several services on the GoLife platform.

Mahatma Waskitadi

Wisnu Nugrahadi

Piotr Jakubowski

Yaumi Fauziah Sugiarta

Windy Natriavi

Jesayas Ferdinandus

Alamanda Shantika Santoso

Michaelangelo Moran