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Indonesia’s startup ecosystem has been beset with a series of scandals recently.
Aquaculture giant eFishery is the latest example, others in recent memory include peer-to-peer lending platform TaniFund, whose business license was revoked by the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) after being implicated in financial misconduct.
Investree, another P2P lender, lost its business license because it failed to meet minimum equity requirements. Its CEO, Adrian Gunadi, was also placed on OJK’s wanted list as a suspect in an alleged financial crime.
These incidents have raised plenty of questions. Why did they happen? How did such misconduct go undetected? What can be done to prevent or curb wrongdoing?
One suggestion to address the last question is to create a dedicated regulatory body for the country’s startup ecosystem. In today’s premium story, we explore this idea.
Today we look at:
- Whether Indonesia needs a startup watchdog
- The rise of crypto in India
- Other newsy highlights such as the return of DeepSeek’s APIs and Danantara’s newly appointed chief investment officer
Premium summary
Who watches the startups?
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Recent fraud cases have shaken investor confidence in Indonesia’s startup ecosystem. These cases – which involved inflated revenue, financial misconduct, and unmet equity requirements, among others – have raised questions about transparency and accountability.
- Wanted: Big Brother? Such incidents have sparked debates over whether a dedicated regulatory body (similar to OJK) is needed for startups. Some argue that having a watchdog would stifle innovation and generate needless bureaucracy, while others believe it’s necessary to improve oversight and prevent fraud.
- Other possibilities: Some say that the roles of existing institutions such as OJK could be strengthened instead of creating a startup watchdog. Other suggestions include forming a private sector data aggregator and setting up a consortium of investors and corporations for oversight.
- Treat the cause: Beyond inadequate oversight, unrealistic growth targets set by investors and companies’ dependence on external funding could be contributing factors to financial misreporting. Ultimately, though, there is no real justification for fraud.
Read more: String of scandals renews call for startup watchdog in Indonesia
India’s crypto boom?
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