Kominfo Builds The Foundation For A Digital Startup Ecosystem In Indonesia

Ilustrasi (image Credit: Roberto Cortese / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Director General of Informatics Applications at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo), Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, said the government has built a foundation to support the growth of the digital startup ecosystem in Indonesia.

"To create the right ecosystem, the Indonesian government encourages digital transformation in three essential elements, namely government, economy, and society. These three elements are framed in the Indonesia Digital Nation framework," Semuel said in a virtual event for the Startup Studio Indonesia program, Thursday, November 26. .

"As a foundation, there is technology and application infrastructure. In the aspect of technology infrastructure, the government is completing the construction of BTS for 4G connections throughout Indonesia," he continued.

In addition, Indonesia also has satellites to facilitate areas that are difficult to reach. Meanwhile, for applications, according to Semuel, Indonesia is a mobile first or mobile only country, so the Ministry of Communication and Information makes all services from the government accessible at hand.

Furthermore, Semuel said that the government has also prepared pillars that keep it in line with the direction and goals of the country. First, regulations and policies.

"This year, one of the regulations we are finalizing is related to the protection of personal data. With this regulation, the state is here to protect the rights of Indonesian citizens in the digital world," said Semuel.

For government elements, the Ministry of Communication and Information has prepared policies related to data storage and processing. Furthermore, for the business element, the government has also made efforts to simplify the process of starting a business.

The next pillar is security and control, as well as the pillar of digital human resources. For this point, the Ministry of Communication and Information has a Cyber Creation program that focuses on digital literacy. There is also a Digital Talent Scholarship program, a program to improve digital skills needed by the industry

The fourth pillar is research and technological innovation. At this point, there are six strategic sectors that are the main points, namely agriculture, maritime, health, education, logistics, and tourism.

"We hope that these foundations and pillars can become an ideal ecosystem for the growth of digital government, digital society and the digital economy. The three essential elements must collaborate and support one another," said Semuel.

In supporting the growth of the digital business aspect, one of the efforts made by the Ministry of Communication and Information is to run three coaching and facilitation programs with different startup targets, namely the 1000 Digital Startup Movement, NextIcorn and Startup Studio Indonesia.

"Today, Indonesia has one decacorn, five unicorns, and dozens of centaurs. It will still continue to grow, and the increase will be faster. I believe innovation can only grow fast in the right ecosystem," said Semuel.