Indonesia's Digital Economy Growth Increases During The Pandemic Period

Ilustrasi (Image Credit: Roberto Cortese / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The growth of the digital economy in Southeast Asia has increased during the pandemic. Where many people use digital services, such as shopping online in e-commerce to food delivery services.

It is recorded that the growth of the digital economy in Indonesia has reached 44 billion US dollars, or around Rp. 619 trillion, from the previous year. Neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines have also experienced the addition of new internet users this year.

"The corona virus has brought a permanent and massive acceleration of digital adoption. Southeast Asia's digital economy grew 5 percent from last 2019," said Google as quoted by Reuters, Tuesday, November 10.

According to Google, online shopping platforms are also a new field of business for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially the lockdown policy which forces people to continue their activities from home.

There are five main sectors that support the growth of the digital economy in Southeast Asia, namely e-commerce, transportation and food delivery, online travel, online media, and fintech. Google also noted that online education and health services were the two sectors that had a fast acceleration during COVID-19.

Google itself predicts that Indonesia's digital economy will continue to grow until 2025. With an estimate of US $ 124 billion.

Meanwhile, according to the wearesocial report, the 11 percent increase in online users has made Southeast Asia one of the largest markets for the internet market. Even when compared to 4.7 billion internet users worldwide.

The upgrade has also helped create unicorns like Grab and Gojek, with startups in the region able to attract billions of capital from global tech companies and investment firms.