COVER STORY
Digitizing a Nation Bringing about socioeconomic mobility in Indonesia through digitization with GOJEK Founder Nadiem Makarim BY MIN CHEN
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roverbial warnings against the dark side of technology frequently point to how machines are gradually replacing parts of the workforce, rendering many vocations irrelevant and individuals, jobless. But this notion fails to account for instances where technology is conversely creating opportunities through connectivity and, in the case of Indonesian super app GOJEK, transforming the developmental path of an entire country. 46
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Founded in 2010 by Nadiem Makarim, GOJEK launched as a ride-hailing platform for Indonesia’s ojeks (i.e., motorcycle taxis) and became the country’s first unicorn in just six years. What began as Makarim’s summer pilot project at Harvard Business
January 2019
Top: GO-PAY is GOJEK’s digital payment platform and is bridging much of the unbanked in Indonesia with the formal economy for the first time. Right: GOJEK Founder Nadiem Makarim at the GOJEK headquarters in Jakarta.
School became a company currently valued at US$5 billion, boasting more than a million drivers and 100 million monthly transactions. For investors hoping to enter Southeast Asia’s largest and arguably most important market, as Indonesia’s GDP makes up 36.5% of the ASEAN economy, GOJEK is a compelling case study for success with an unparalleled user penetration and industry reach (World Bank). In early 2018, the
