Indonesia has 2,319 startups with 124 bln USD potential

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has recorded the current number of startups in Indonesia as many as 2,319, including eight unicorns and one decacorn.

With this number, the potential for digital transactions in the Southeastern Asian country is estimated to reach 124 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

“This makes us the most advanced in Asia,” chairman of the OJK’s board of commissioners Wimboh Santoso said at the 3rd Indonesia Fintech Summit 2021  here on Saturday (Dec. 11).

However, he reminded that the vast digital access and inclusion have not been compatible with digital literacy among the people.

They should be given sufficient literacy to protect themselves from this very wide range of digital products and risks, he added.

According to Wimboh, there are a lot of people who do not understand digital products that fit their needs.

“Sometimes they borrow excessively from digital financial services only because of various attractive offers,” he said.

In addition, there are also some people who do not know if a digital financial service is legal, causing them trapped in illegal transactions.

In addition, some people do not know or do not take into account online loan interest rates and how to protect personal data when using digital financial services.

Reporting by Indonesia Window