Indonesia: 109 Member 48 Ministry Cabinet Coalition, Temu Ban, TikTok & Bukalapak & VC Investments with Gita Sjahrir - E491

BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)

Gita Sjahrir, Head of Investment at BNI Ventures, and Jeremy Au discussed:

1. 109 Member 48 Ministry Cabinet Coalition: With the inauguration on October 20, 2024, President Prabowo Subianto expanded the cabinet from 34 to 48 ministries, the largest since 1966. Prabowo's coalition-building strategy is to accommodate political allies and unify the seven-party coalition behind him. They drew comparisons to Germany’s coalition politics, emphasizing the importance of coordination between Indonesia’s national and regional leaders for effective governance.

2. Temu Ban, TikTok & Bukalapak: In early October 2024, Indonesia banned Chinese social commerce platform Temu, similar to TikTok Shop which then had to acquire Tokopedia. The Indonesian government also requested Apple and Google to block the Temu app to prevent local downloads. Other nations, including the United States and EU, are scrutinizing Chinese exporter practices, with the US tightening tax exemptions on low-cost imports in 2023. Gita explained that while such protectionism shields MSMEs, Indonesia’s core issues (e.g., complex bureaucracy, high business costs, lack of raw materials and a multi-year backlog for trademarks) remain unaddressed. She argued that easing these foundational barriers would create a fairer, more sustainable advantage for local businesses, rather than just temporary protection from foreign competition.

3. VC Investments: Indonesia has already attracted interest in green joint ventures (JVs), particularly with China. Jeremy highlighted MAKA Motors, founded by former GoJek CTO Raditya Wibowo, as a local player advancing EV production, while Gita mentioned Toba’s push for renewable energy. They underscored the cultural importance of home ownership, noting that many Indonesians aspire to own land despite its often low financial returns, which drives prop-tech startup Rukita. Rekosistem is also a key startup addressing waste management in Indonesia’s growing urban areas. They also discussed the pressures faced by Indonesia’s “sandwich generation,” who often support both aging parents and their own families, and how these dynamics shape housing affordability and socio-economic mobility.

Jeremy and Gita also talked about the film “Home Sweet Loan, which explores Indonesians’ struggle with housing affordability, the influx of green investments into EV battery production and the regulatory challenges surrounding the rise of online gambling among youth.

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