Encouraging National Digital Economy Transformation, Government Strengthens Startup Ecosystem

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs (Menko) Airlangga Hartarto. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The government continues to accelerate the transformation of the digital economy as one of the main drivers of national growth.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that along with the rapid progress of technology, synergy between the government, industry, and the startup community, it is an important element to increase economic competitiveness and produce innovations that provide broad benefits for the community.

He added that Indonesia has a great opportunity to become the leading digital power in the region.

Indonesia has great potential to become a digital power in an area with more than 3,000 startups, Indonesia is now ranked sixth in the world. This dynamic startup ecosystem has become an important asset in driving Indonesia's digital economy growth, namely a new driving engine for national development," he said in his official statement, quoted Wednesday, November 12.

He expressed this at The NTT Startup Challenge 2025 Pitch Day where the event was one of the largest startup competitions in Southeast Asia since 2017, organized by the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Group followed by more than 1,200 startups from various countries in Asia, including Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, as well as involving 15 NTT companies in incubation and development activities.

This competition is an important means of strengthening cross-border innovation and opening up opportunities for technology cooperation for Indonesian startups to advance to class at the global level.

Airlangga explained that Indonesia's digital economy contribution has reached 90 billion US dollars by 2024, and is projected to increase to 110 billion US dollars by 2025.

He added that the government is optimistic that this value will jump to 360 billion US dollars by 2030, with the e-commerce sector contributing around 150 billion US dollars.

In addition, Airlangga conveyed that the government also emphasized the importance of regional cooperation through the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).

According to him, this initiative encourages innovation, integration, and inclusiveness in the region, with the target of making ASEAN a digital economy power worth US$2 trillion by 2030.

In realizing this digital transformation, Airlangga said that Indonesia needs around 9 million digital talents by 2030.

Based on a World Economic Forum (WEF) study projected five areas of digital work with the fastest growth for the 2025-2030 period, namely Big Data Specialists, Fintech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Experts, Software Developers, and Security Management Professionals.

He added that the government also continues to strengthen various initiatives to support the development of national startups, such as 1000 Digital Startups Program, Startup4Industry, BEKUP, Startup Studio Indonesia, and Blue Innovative Startup Acceleration (BISA).

Menurut Airlangga, program-program tersebut memberikan dukungan menyeluruh mulai dari pelatihan hingga bootcamp, guna membantu startup bertumbuh dan memperluas jangkauan usahanya.

“Keberhasilan kompetisi startup ini tidak boleh berhenti pada ajang penghargaan semata. Diperlukan langkah lanjutan agar inovasi dapat berkembang lebih jauh dan memberikan manfaat nyata bagi masyarakat,” pungkasnya.

According to Airlangga, these programs provide comprehensive support ranging from training to bootscamps, to help startups grow and expand their business reach.

"The success of this startup competition must not stop at a mere award event. Follow-up steps are needed so that innovation can develop further and provide real benefits for the community," he concluded.