"We have huge potential and market in the sector. Currently, we have 2,229 start-ups. Thus, our digital economy potential can reach $124 billion until 2025," he remarked while giving a keynote speech at the Kompas100 CEO Forum.
Jokowi emphasized that if Indonesia fails to ready its digital economy ecosystem in two years, it would lag behind other countries.
"Hence, we must have a road map on preparing the digital infrastructure, the digital government, and the digital society, so that we can finally create the ecosystem,” he stated.
The president admitted that it would take massive efforts to build a digital infrastructure, including to develop the fiber-optic cable network, micro-wealth links, satellites, base transceiver stations (BTS), downstream infrastructure, as well as data centers.
"We have to work fast or else the opportunity will be seized by another countries. Trust me. Hence, we only have two years to prepare it," he stressed.
Furthermore, the president has assessed that it is also important to improve the quality of human resources (HR) as a major requirement in establishing a digital economy.
"The HR comprised elementary-level HR, middle-level HR, internet of things officers, cloud computing experts, as well as big data professionals. Hence, we need a digital leadership academy to thoroughly prepare them,” he stated.
Thus, in building the ecosystem, Jokowi encouraged every stakeholder to seek for cooperation partners, as it would be impossible to do it alone.
"We have to collaborate to realize the digital ecosystem and immediately run it," he stated.