The fast developing world of tech is the result of involvements of many countries in the world, including Indonesia.
The vast archipelago country has become the center of many tech developments in the Southeast Asia. Indonesia the country that has given birth to several unicorns, which include: Gojek, Tokopedia, OVO, Bukalapak and Traveloka.
Overall, there are 2,193 startups registered in the country, and that is apparently not enough, said President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, at the Digital Economy Summit 2020 in Ballroom Ritz Carlton Pacific Place, Jakarta.
According to the President:
"We have 2,193 startups: one decacorn, four unicorns. But that isn't enough."
In the event that was also attended by Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella, Jokowi said that Indonesia has a lot of potentials, especially in terms of digital economy growth.
The President continued by saying that in 2019, internet in Indonesia reached 65%, connecting a total of 171 million people from its 260 million population.
"Digital products must also solve problems in the society, such as improving educations to those who couldn't afford formal education and live in remote places, as well as providing funding for micro- and small-businesses, including crowdfunding," Jokowi explained.
Indonesia’s digital economy is the largest and fastest-growing in Southeast Asia, and expected to reach $130 billion by 2025 compared to $40 billion in 2019.
“Microsoft wants to invest immediately in Indonesia,” President Joko Widodo told to reporters after giving a speech.
“So within a week we will decide a new, simple regulation to support the investment,” Widodo said, without elaborating on what the regulation might be or the size of the potential investment.
Microsoft held the event to celebrate its 25 years of operations in Indonesia. The company said that it will continue to invest in enabling the country to realize its vision of becoming Southeast Asia’s leading digital economy.
The Digital Economy Summit 2020 was held in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information (Kominfo). The event also introduced Microsoft for Startups to the audience of developers, startups, community organizations and business leaders in Indonesia.
At the summit, Microsoft also announced the graduation of the first batch of 2,500 developers on Azure scholarships from the Azure Academy, run by Dicoding, where the virtual classes were conducted in Bahasa Indonesia.
Microsoft Indonesia President Director Haris Izmee, said that:
"Our mission in Indonesia is to empower every person and every organization to achieve more, and that includes enabling the workforce with the skills and support needed to transform Indonesia. There’s been a dramatic shift in global labor markets, and we have learnt that more than half of the employees in any organization today will need to be re-skilled."
"The jobs of today will not be the jobs of tomorrow, and we have already seen demand for software engineering roles expand rapidly beyond just the tech sector. Business leaders in Indonesia feel that Quantitative, analytical and statistical skills, entrepreneurship and initiative-taking, and IT skills and programming will be what sets us up for success as a country. Highly skilled professionals will have an enormous leverage as computing becomes embedded in every industry, and it has created acute labor shortages in digital skills."
"We are committed to advocating the importance of digital talent to increase Indonesia’s competitiveness in the region over the next 25 years."
"We’re nurturing an environment to encourage the dreamers and the risk takers and those who refuse to take no for an answer. We’re also encouraging people to try new things, to lift one another up and to break down barriers. You are the builders of tomorrow. We are inspired by you. And we can’t wait to see how you take Indonesia to the next level and realize the vision of becoming South East Asia’s leading digital economy."