Jakarta includes a concentration of Indonesia’s start-up firms and capital investments. Being the capital city, it makes the development of start-up firms relatively easy, offering support, networking, and infrastructure matched in other Southeast Asian cities. The government of Jakarta has been very responsive to publicly funded start-up initiatives, including the 1,001 Digital Startups National Initiatives that helps develop and fund tech space businesses.
The government’s mission to attract larger city-wide events and conferences to Jakarta has planted the city on the map with foreign investors. The city of Jakarta was placed third on Startup Genome’s 2021 “Emerging Ecosystems” with an estimated combined start-up valuation of USD 34 billion. Much of the city’s innovative drive comes from start-ups working to serve second and third tier cities and rural citizens in the population whose voices, up until now, were ignored.
Household names have emerged in the scene, including companies like JD.id and Ajaib. Many of the latest and most successful start-ups are focused on providing goods and financial services, utilizing the local customs of Indonesian consumers including pay-later approaches. Fintech has also taken hold, with many start-ups focused on providing services to the 95% of Indonesians who currently conduce their daily transactions offline. The city is definitely one to watch as Southeast Asia continues to see economic success.