State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir expressed his support and willingness to facilitate comprehensive development of the digital industry in Indonesia.

“The development must be supported by infrastructure and funding. I think we have to maximize our data center and cloud computing. They should not be owned by foreigners. We must become a competitive opponent,” Thohir stated during an online discussion on Tuesday.

Minister Thohir is keen that state-owned telecommunications company Telkom opens data centers extensively across Indonesia in a bid to support business activities of local entrepreneurs.

“In the development of fiber optic networks, we were already equipped with the 5G network, and this became an important part of the infrastructure,” he remarked. Apart from funding, with the existence of BRI Ventures, Mandiri Capital, MDI, and TMI, Minister Thohir will also start to focus on funding for start-up companies.

“We want to ensure that those start-up companies have an Indonesian founder and operate in Indonesia. We hope that those start-ups would have IPO prospects in Indonesia,” he affirmed.

The minister had earlier encouraged Indonesia’s youth to own large companies that were soon able to become unicorn start-ups in the country.

Thohir sees potential in Indonesia’s young generations to build unicorn start-ups since currently, the country already had five unicorns, and the figure is expected to multiply to reach 25 unicorns in the following years. This target aims to encourage companies to expand their businesses, create massive employment opportunities, and also to encourage the Indonesian economy to ensure that the country is also supported by digitalization.

He noted that Indonesia’s companies were in a stagnant position over the years as compared to foreign digital firms that grow through their multiple resources and were not solely dependent on their natural resources.

Earlier, several state enterprises, such as Mandiri, BRI, Telkom, and Telkomsel, had invested in start-up companies. For instance, BRI had invested in 15 startups; Mandiri and Telkomsel, each with 15 startups; and Telkom had invested in 54 startups.

Source: Antara News