Startup, a company initiated by individual founders or entrepreneurs to search for a repeatable and scalable business model, becomes a hot topic for Indonesian people.
An advancement in the era of technology and digitalization of various aspects of life make the community take into account the potential of startups.
The development of the number of startups has also experienced a significant increase.
Logo of National Movement of 1000 Digital Startups. (1000startupdigital.id)
More specifically, a startup is a newly emerging business venture that aims to develop a viable business model to meet a marketplace need or problem
The trend of startups around the world, including Indonesia, has also made many people, especially the millennial generation, interested in establishing a startup.
A book entitled Mapping and Database Startup Indonesia 2018 compiled by Indonesia Digital Creative Industry Community (MIKTI) and Technopreneur released data that the number of startups in Indonesia was 992.
The figure was obtained by the MIKTI team based on direct verification to the field and accessing the company's official website and applications.
Data from MIKTI shows that more than half of the startups are in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. The percentage reached 52.62 percent with a total of 522 startups.
Three domiciles with the most number of startups include the Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek) with 522 startups, Sumatra Island 115 startups, and East Java Province with 113 startups. The fields involved in the startup range from e-commerce, fintech, games and other fields.
Sumatra ranks second with the highest number of startups, which is 115 or 11.53 percent.
Central Java has 30 startups (3.02 percent), Yogyakarta 54 startups (5.44 percent), West Java 44 startups (4.44 percent), and East Java 113 startups (11.39 percent).
In other regions, Bali and NTB have 32 startups (3.23 percent), Kalimantan 24 startups (2.42 percent), Sulawesi 34 startups (3.43 percent), and 24 startups with unknown domiciles. (2.42 percent).
As many as 60.89 percent or 604 startups were established in 2013 to 2018. The majority of startups are in the form of limited liability companies (PT) with a total of 504 startups.
A total of 352 registered startups engaged in e-commerce while 53 in startup in the field of financial technology and 55 in the game.
MIKTI recorded that 69.20 percent of the founders of the startup are generation Y who were born in the period 1981-1994 with a majority education level of Strata 1.
In terms of gender, 91.18 percent of startup founders were men while women were 8.82 percent.
A total of 992 startups absorb 55,903 workers. The majority of startups recorded (88.25 percent) had more than 50 employees and only 1.90 percent of startups in Indonesia had more than 500 employees.
Executive Director of Komunikonten Institute for Social Media and Diplomacy Hariqo Wibawa Satria said that there were so many start-up companies established by young people nowadays.
Youth according to Law 40/2009 are those aged 16-30 years, or those born in the 1990s and 2000s.
They are the generation that was born when the Internet began to enter Indonesia, Hariqo Wibawa remarked.
If the previous generation had more aspirations to become teachers, soldiers, doctors and employees, then this generation had other choices, namely making technology-based businesses, websites and the Internet.
"In addition they are also facilitated by social media, online conversation applications, e-mail to distribute ideas and products," Hariqo Wibawa stated.
Hariqo Wibawa said that MIKTI data showed that the number of young people aged 16-30 years was approximately 64 million people, while the number of new start-ups was around 922.
"So in fact there are still more young people in Indonesia as ordinary Internet users than startup makers ," he said.
In making a startup, there are at least two orientations or goals. Firstly, a young man wants to seek profit. Secondly a young man wants to solve the problem.
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"For the second goal, a young man will ask himself, what is the purpose of his life ? and what problems will I solve as long as I live. The bigger the problem is solved, the startup will become more popular," Hariqo Wibawa noted.
Some startups were established to help solve congestion problems, access to education, promotion and distribution of a micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) products, raise funds for social activities.
In addition, he said that Indonesia could become a major digital player in ASEAN and even Asia through changing the way of thinking of youth.
The young people should change its orientation from making money to solving problems at the local, national, ASEAN, Asia and even world level.
"It's okay to make a startup for entertainment, games and so on, but there must be noble values and social orientation. Noble values and social orientation must be a spirit of the startup," Hariqo Wibawa said.
The current challenge, he pointed out, more than 118 regional heads have been arrested for corruption.
"So, what start-up can prevent corruption. Likewise, economic inequality, access to information, literacy, fanaticism which gave birth to radicalism, separatism. What startup can prevent those issues. Investors and economic benefits will come, if the startup that is established becomes a solution to the problems that exist in the society," Hariqo Wibawa revealed.
Related news: Economic Creative Agency inaugurates BE-X to support startups
More creative
Most startups are founded by youths as main capital to establish a startup is innovation and courage, CEO Rentist, Alfie Radithya Ferdian said.
Rentist is a startup which comes with the concept of a rental marketplace in various categories of goods.
Alfie Radithya remarked that young people are more creative, prefer new things and tend to think out of the box.
"From the courage side, young people are more free to take steps. Lack of dependence, the urge to be strong and independent boost their courage to establish startups. if we look back, most of big companies standing now were founded by young people," Alfie Radithya said.
Youths have an important role in developing startups in Indonesia today. It can be seen from hundreds of startups that appear every year.
"Almost all of the founders and their teams consist of young people.We need people who are experienced to support crazy ideas that are sparked by young people to solve problems that exist in Indonesia so that they can run optimally," Alfie Radithya remarked.
Alfie Radithya expressed optimism that Indonesia could become the biggest digital economy player in ASEAN and even in Asia.
"Population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) factors make it easy for us to become the largest digital economy player in ASEAN," he said.
However, the government should improve digital infrastructure, the speed of regulators in making regulations, and the ease of investing.
Digital infrastructure, the speed of regulators in making regulations, and the ease of investing still need to be increased further so that we can compete in the Asian or world level, Alfie Radithya remarked.
"If we look at China and India, it will be very difficult to defeat them in the digital economy market. Those countries have large population and GDP," he said.
In addition, the application of digital technology in these countries has been very fast, even now China is faster than the United States in applying digital technology in its country.
Related news: ASEAN to open markets for regional startups
On the other hand, if digital economic integration between ASEAN countries happens and goes well, it will greatly help boost Indonesia to become one of the biggest players in the global digital economy.
Startup is a hope for equity, as well as economic growth in various sectors.
Therefore, domestic startups must continue to be developed in a practical and appropriate manner in order to become the main motor and the greatest hope of the Indonesian nation. This will lead Indonesia to leap from developing to developed country.
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By Azis Kurmala
