Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago consisting of over 17,000 islands and has a population of 275 million, which makes it the largest country and market for start-ups in Southeast Asia. Indonesia’s tech start-up ecosystem started booming in the early 2010s, as digital service providers such as Tokopedia, Traveloka and Gojek made their foray into the market. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), Indonesia is expected to become the world’s 5th largest economy by 2024, which is accelerated by its dynamic startup ecosystem system and fast-growing internet economy. Besides Singapore, Indonesia has the largest number of start-ups and unicorns that focus on its huge domestic market and secured the bulk of investment funds in the region. According to StartupBlink Startup Ecosystem 2022 report, Indonesia is ranked 9th in the Asia-Pacific region and second after Singapore in Southeast Asia.
The NOC Indonesia 6-month programme aims to introduce students to the dynamic Indonesian start-up ecosystem and expose them to start-ups in areas such as agricultural technology, fintech, e-commerce and more. NOC Indonesia is currently operating in three cities:
Jakarta: Being the political and economic epicenter of Indonesia with its population of 11 million, it is the top-ranked Indonesian city for developing startups and ranks third among the top 100 emerging ecosystems on Startup Genome’s 2021 “Emerging Ecosystems”. The city’s start-up ecosystem is estimated at a value of US$26.3 billion that covers a wide range of industries from Fintech, E-commerce, Logistics, to AgriTech. Tech talents from the top universities are actively solving the local problems and contributing to the start-up ecosystem.
Bandung: Known for their creative and innovative fashion industry even before the start-up boom, the city has been designated by UNESCO as a part of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). There are 17 universities (e.g. Bandung Institute of Technology and Telkom University) within Bandung which contributed to the rise of tech talent and digital start-ups in Bandung.
Yogyakarta: A tradition and culture-rich city that is home to Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), hosts a wide array of talent pool for tech start-ups. The start-up scene in Yogyakarta is growing with many start-ups relocating into the city due to lower operation cost and better traffic conditions. Coupled with its young demographics, Yogyakarta has also attracted a growing gaming start-up community.
Read about Indonesia’s dynamic start-up scene at the following links:
