Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto has affirmed that the Indonesian government has continued to take measures to capitalize on opportunities in the digital economy.
“Those opportunities certainly pose various challenges, especially in the digital ecosystem,” he remarked at the OJK Virtual Innovation Day 2021 here on Monday.
Indonesia is quite capable of accelerating digital transformation, including in the financial sector, as seen by the growth in the second quarter of 2021, which has reached 7.07 percent (year on year), he noted.
However, in the digital innovation index in 2020 Indonesia was still 85th out of 131 countries, Hartarto said, adding that the nation’s digital literacy index is also on a medium scale, thereby highlighting the need for digital breakthroughs.
According to the minister, those breakthroughs can be made through massive digital infrastructure development, human resources development, and regulations that encourage the digital and financial sectors to develop.
In the human resources sector, the government is encouraging the development of digital talents, starting from basic skills training, to boost the productivity of various sectors, including digital finance, he underlined.
The government is also encouraging micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to migrate to digital platforms to improve their productivity as well as gain wider access to the market and the digital finance sector, he added.
In addition, Hartarto said that the Indonesian government is also encouraging investment because digital breakthroughs would require financial support.
Therefore, in accordance with the mandate of the Job Creation Law, specifically for the financial sector, the government has established a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) or the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), he added.
This step is expected to be one of the motors to support infrastructure development, including digital infrastructure, while also increasing productivity, the minister said.
In addition, investment is also expected to encourage job creation and support Indonesia’s transition to a new economy, he added.
Source: Antara News