Never-Ending Efforts to Innovate
Young Indonesians are taking action in the economic world through startups. Four of them are classified in the unicorn category: Go-Jek, Bukalapak, Tokopedia and Traveloka.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Young Indonesians are taking action in the economic world through startups. Four of them are classified in the unicorn category: Go-Jek, Bukalapak, Tokopedia and Traveloka.
Startup unicorns must not only have a valuation of at least US$1 billion, they must also be stable and have sustainable business models and correct customer information and income data. These businesses must also have funding support.
Based on the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate on Thursday (16/8/2018), which places the rupiah at Rp 14,619 per United States dollar, the valuation is equivalent to Rp 14.61 trillion.
Even after securing the unicorn title, these young entrepreneurs must never stop innovating.
Chairman II of the Indonesian Start-Up Venture Capital Association (Amvesindo) Donald Mihardja emphasized that after becoming a unicorn, startups must maintain their market share.
Founder and CEO of Tokopedia William Tanuwijaya said that Tokopedia initially provided the spaces for sellers and buyers to meet. However, at present, Tokopedia places itself as a technology company that provides human needs in accordance with the life cycle. Even in the last two years, digital products and financial technology are also available on its website. These two innovations continue to emphasize support for the economic equality of the Indonesian people.
"Since the first day of its establishment, Tokopedia was built as a technology company that wants to help the economic equitable distribution for the Indonesian people . The equitable distribution is not only originating from its marketing website," William said.
Tokopedia holds the unicorn title after six years of operation. At present, 4 million sellers are available on Tokopedia’s website, of which 70 percent are new businesses. As many as 78 million people see 86 million items on the website every month.
William said the decision to enter the financial technology sector was based on the intention to support access to financial services, meet the financing needs for both Tokopedia’s partners and buyers, and facilitate electronic transactions.
Meanwhile, Bukalapa founder and CEO Achmad Zaky never stopped thinking about making new technological innovations. After an innovation is created, its compatibility with the needs of the consumers must be analyzed.
Moreover, currently Bukalapak must deal with a large volume of data, for which it will open a research and development center in Bandung, West Java.
"Eight years ago, when the company was just established, I and the other founders could relax for three days at home during Idul Fitri. If we do the same now and our system is down just for an hour, the customers will scream, and we have to suffer losses," Zaky said.
Bukalapak started to hold the unicorn label in November 2017.
However, Zaky acknowledged that the e-commerce industry was getting saturated.
In order to face such a challenge, Bukalapak strives to create new features, including entering the financial technology (fintech) solution sector.
The fintech sector has become an option because of its growth, which is bigger and more promising. BukaModal, one of the features in BukaLapak, channels loans to 5,000 micro, small and medium enterprises.
Bukalapak has expanded to include sales networks outside its own network by inviting retail shops to serve Bukalapak shopping payments. Currently, Bukalapak has 3 million merchant partners and 30 million users.
Increasing the number of features
Traveloka, which in 2012 only provided a feature for domestic and international airline ticket bookings, added features for hotel bookings and a mobile app in 2014. Never ceasing to innovate, in 2016-2017, Traveloka added features for train ticket bookings, tourism attractions, vehicle rentals at airports and bus tickets. As of 2018, it is equipped with a culinary catalog. Electronic transaction payment services are also available.
Traveloka got its unicorn title on July 27, 2017.
"During the six years Traveloka’s existence, we have carried out a variety of innovations that we adapted to the needs of the users. At the start of Traveloka’s establishment, we only offered airplane tickets, but gradually we added supporting products and services to serve the travel needs and lifestyle of our users," Traveloka founder and CEO Ferry Unardi said.
All features were created to meet the needs of Traveloka\'s main consumers, namely tourists. Traveloka also operates in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam, even though Indonesia is still its largest market. The application has been downloaded more than 40 million times, with 30 million visits per month.
Meanwhile, Go-Jek CEO Nadiem Makarim motivated the younger generation to compete with world giants. He hopes that Go-Jek would be an example for anyone aiming to achieve their goal at the global level.
"Let\'s appear on the world stage! Don\'t be afraid to compete with the best in the world," he said.
After expanding its business to Vietnam -- and in the near future to Thailand -- Go-Jek also strengthened its business in the domestic market. Innovations that will be carried out include the food and payment fields.
(MED/MAR)