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Opinion | Why Indonesia is poised to become the next AI start-up hub

  • Knowledge exchanges are crucial to ensuring continued growth, along with an emphasis on creating Indonesian scientists
  • China is also facilitating education growth in Indonesia, offering numerous scholarships for scientific research and collaboration

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo inspecting coronavirus vaccine trials and production facilities during his visit to Bio Farma in Bandung, Indonesia, August 11, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE
Indonesia’s start-up economy is booming, underpinned by factors such as a relatively young median age of 29, a mobile-first approach to the internet and a booming e-commerce ecosystem, with Indonesia placing as the eleventh largest market for e-commerce in 2019 with a market size of US$19 billion.
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Indonesian start-ups have scaled globally over the last two decades, counting among them super-app Go-jek, e-commerce focused Tokopedia, and education-specific Ruangguru.

As Indonesia moves forward, its workforce must become more technically focused, and Indonesians must facilitate a transition from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based one. With this being said, AI-focused start-ups must consider Indonesia for growth, particularly as the country expands its start-up ecosystem.

Human capital development must be prioritised by both public and private organisations, particularly as Indonesian companies emerge as a force to be reckoned with in the global start-up economy.

Emphasising intellectual capital growth and knowledge production will help create an environment to incentivise young Indonesian students to pursue initiatives to increase the potential of home-grown AI.

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However, this represents just one step in growing an AI-focused start-up ecosystem in Indonesia, with two other factors for success being an emphasis on education technology and increased government education spending.

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