ASEAN Has the Potential to Have a New Decacorn, The Republic of Indonesia Proposes Strengthening Cooperation in the Region

JAKARTA – The government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) said that the business potential of ASEAN digital startups is believed to reach a valuation of 1 trillion US dollars by 2030.

This was conveyed by the Director General of Information and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah, at the opening of the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Forum (AIPF) Startup Connect in Jakarta.

"To achieve this, startup businesses need to be supported and encouraged through innovation and facilitating collaboration in both the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific regions," he said in a written statement on Wednesday, August 6.

Faizasyah said that the agenda being held was a side event of the 43rd ASEAN Summit series.

He said, there were 52 startups in the fields of financial business, MSMEs, supply chains and the creative economy from seven ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam), as well as 21 corporate partners from three countries (Indonesia, Japan, Singapore) also attended the AIPF Startup Connect activity.

"Startups and corporate partners are taking part in a marathon business matching event from today until tomorrow," he said

Faizasyah said that through this activity it is hoped that ASEAN will continue to produce successful startups up to unicorn or even decacorn class.

On the same occasion, Google's Vice President for Asia Pacific Michaela Browning expressed her belief that startup development in ASEAN would continue to grow rapidly.

"This is due to the strong adoption of technology by the ASEAN community and young talent that continues to emerge," emphasized Michaela.

In the panel discussion session, challenges and opportunities were discussed in an effort to increase the competitiveness of startups in ASEAN, especially in addressing the development of digital technology and strengthening the issue of sustainability.

The AIPF Startup Connect activity is the result of a collaboration between the Government and business circles (Government-to-Business) between the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Google, and Impacto.