According to a recent report, Indonesia is the largest e-commerce marketplace in Southeast Asia. The online transactions in the country have amounted to US$ 5 billion, while transactions through informal e-commerce have reached US$ 3 billion.
It is estimated that there are around 30 million Indonesian citizens who transact through online marketplaces.
In a recent Universitas Gadjah Mada conference with the theme, “Shaping the Future of Digital Economy: Trends, Opportunity, and Challenge”, it was expressed that the e-commerce marketplace is projected to grow 8 times more.
The projection is that it will grow from transactions that amounted to US$ 8 billion in 2017 to around US$ 55 – 65 billion by the year 2022.
There are several reasons why there is a rapid growth of e-commerce in the country.
One reason could be the rise in the number of smartphone users as well as the millennial generation who are driving the digital world.
Another reason could be attributed to the increasing involvement of entrepreneurs or small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in online marketing.
Add to that, the investment in e-commerce made and the government policies that were done in support of them.
Although a start-up agreed with the explanation that the rise of digital economy was accelerated because of the large number of internet users in Indonesia, there still exists a gap between e-commerce in Java and outside of the island.
It is expected that infrastructure development will boost the digital economic growth beyond Java.
The characteristics of the digital economy, which has been greatly shaped by the millennial generation, are straightforward, direct, and very efficient.
Digitising technology has become a necessity based from the studies made on the trends in digitisation on economy and business.
As reported, during the recent National and International Science Event with the theme, “Research and Innovation for Economy in Industry 4.0”, the Ministry for Research, Technology and Higher Education called on scientists and modifiers to improve their capacity to initiate, implement, and develop research.
Innovation from research is a key for the country to become a winner. The scientists are encouraged to be more creative when developing innovation as this is much needed for the 4.0 Industrial Revolution Era.
Indonesia should be able to rely on its own resources and be able to spur competitiveness.
It is essential that the research and innovation produced by both higher education institutions and research institutions are in line with the needs of the industry.
With the onset of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution Era, there is a need for the reformulation of higher education priorities in order for it to become more relevant with the global development trend.