President Jokowi Encourages Creative Youths to Enter Competition
President Jokowi opens the 2018 Digital Startup Connect in Kartika Expo, Balai Kartini, Jakarta, on Friday (7/12). (Photo by: Fitri/Public Relations Division)7
President Joko Jokowi Widodo stated that the world is currently facing disruptions and the 4.0 Industrial Revolution, which opens up opportunities for extensive, sudden and surprising changes.
These changes, according to the President, are ultra-normal, abnormal changes, and the world is currently looking for a new normal. In this disrupted situation, it opens opportunities for newcomers in the digital economy to compete with others.
This opens up opportunities for creative, innovative youths in situations like this to compete the President said when giving a speech at the Opening of the 2018 Digital Startup Connect in Kartika Expo, Balai Kartini, Setiabudi, Jakarta, Friday (7/12), adding that the youths today are given the opportunity to compete. The problem is whether they want to compete or not. What they need is hard work, innovation, and courage to dream big.
I think, when it comes to the mastery of technology, Indonesian youths have equal skills and their orientation is sociopreneur, aimed to solve problems, to find solutions that exist in the society, the President said.
President Jokowi further explained that global digital economy has doubled between 2000 and 2016 and grew 2.5 times as many as the world income (GDP). This means, the President continued, the opportunities here are tremendous. It is estimated that in 2025 the digital economy will reach USD23 trillion.
Please calculate how much the total amount means, USD23 trillion will be equivalent to 24.3% of world GDP, its a huge amount, said the President.
Therefore, the President reminded all that there should be more incubators and accelerators, because those startups really need it and the ecosystem must cover online and offline markets. Both of them must collaborate, it cant be an online market only, said the President.
The President cited an example that last week, he met with micro and supermicro business players in the village, who sold fried bananas, macaroni, and nasi uduk (steamed coconut rice).
The problems they are facing, according to the President, are that the marketing of their products is only carried out at home, on a cart in front of the house. The sellers do not own brands nor good packaging. Things like this also deserve attention. How to make a good packaging, then a good brand too, we have to educate them, said the President.
According to the President, the youths must start building a brand that is simple and easy to remember. The products of home industries and micro-small businesses, the President continued, are good, but they only need a little touch.
But who is in charge of that? The Government has no ability to do that. These must be people who have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, who have knowledge of how to build a brand, who have knowledge of how to package a product, so that there is more value there, said the President.
The President considered that this is the work of youth who have interests in digital startup to combine the online with offline ecosystem.
Online ecosystems must indeed be connected to the offline ecosystem. So, you will reap a big reward, besides big profit, because you are improving your standard of living, soaring household businesses, own a brand and the packaging, and hopefully you are able to enter a global marketplace, the President concluded.
Attending the occasion included Minister of Communication and Informatics Rudiantara, Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) Triawan Munaf, Special Staff Coordinator for the President Teten Masduki, and CEO of Gan Kapital and President Director of Plug and Play Indonesia Wesley Harjono. (DNA/ES)
Translated by: Muhardi
Edited by: Mia Medyana B.
