Indonesian Use Internet a Lot, Telkom Wants to Develop More Startups

The digital ear has a mixed impact. One of the impacts felt by most people is the ease of internet access. A day without the internet would be empty. There is interesting data submitted by the Director of Wholesale and International Services Telkom Indonesia, Edwin Aristiawan, related to this case.

On the stage of the Bandung ICT Expo 2019 which was held at Telkom University, he had mentioned the use of the internet. “From the data we have collected, the Indonesians up to this year spent 8 hours and 51 minutes on internet access per day,” Edwin said.

“Almost 9 hours. Of course, this cannot be avoided because we have become a digital society and all effect on the penetration of smartphone usage which reaches 60 percent,” he continued. Not only that, but Edwin also said that 40 percent of Indonesians are users of e-commerce services.

According to Edwin, this is a sign that Indonesia is ready to generate more young talents to contribute to the digital sector. Edwin emphasized that the synergy between the government, companies, communities, and potential technology players must continue for the growth of the digital industry.

Telkom Has Various Training Programs for Startup Candidates

As an example mentioned by Edwin, Telkom has a variety of training programs for startup candidates. “We have many programs like Indigo, Amoeba, and NextDev. Everything can foster and accelerate potential startups to be useful for the development of the digital economy,” he said.

“For example, there is an Agree application. This is one of the startups that we have developed and is engaged in agriculture. It is already running, and has helped farmers to be more effective in planting, monitoring harvests, and selling them at normal prices,” he added.

Furthermore, Agree has also bridged farmers who need capital from SOEs. Previously, Telkom has also launched Logtan application which is also running in the agriculture sector. The Digital and Strategic Portfolio Director of Telkom, David, Bandung, said the app ensures the integration, validity, and accuracy of various agricultural data.

“With Logtan, farmers can collect data on land and other agricultural activities that can be used in processing agricultural services,” David said. With the application, farmers can also easily apply for business credit, insurance, and purchase agricultural production facilities like seeds, fertilizers, and others.

David said that what makes it easy is the information recorded in Logtan has been validated directly to the field and is equipped with supporting documents such as photos of farmers, photos of land, ID cards, as well as family cards.

Edwin: Indonesian Digital Talents Are Still Lacking

As he inaugurated the Bandung ICT Expo 2019 at Telkom University Campus, Edwin Aristiawan also said that Indonesia is considered lacking in meeting the needs of digital talents. He also predicted that the country will need more digital talents in 2030. The lack of digital talent could reach 650,000.

“Indonesia’s current digital talent supply is only 9,000 per year, so it is still far from the needs,” Edwin said. Indonesia’s digital talent potential, he said, is quite large. But, many young people are adept at creating programs are constrained by educational problems.

“Many are not in college, but they are good in coding programs. Besides, many are already able to create programs and initiate digital ecosystems, but have not yet reached the digital economic ecosystem and make money from the digital ecosystem,” Edwin added.

For this reason, Telkom has the ambition to supervise and develop more startups in the future. This state company has even prepared various programs for the goal. Meanwhile, Bandung ICT Expo 2019 has become the main event of the company’s 6th Anniversary.