[RECAP] ANGIN attends the Indonesia-Australia Digital Forum

Aidan Bowan
Thank you to the Indonesian and Australian Governments for jointly hosting the excellent Indonesia-Australia Digital Forum. As Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade noted: “The objective of the program [was] to build new areas of cooperation, and to drive momentum in Australia’s commercial links with Indonesia’s vibrant digital economy.” As ANGIN, we were excited to participate in the program on the 1st of February, as well as the supporting program for collaboration with Australian business on the 31st of January. The conference saw many guest appearances from both key members of the Indonesian government as well as the Australian government. Notably the Gala Dinner was hosted by the Indonesian Minister for Communications and Informatics, Pak Rudiantara. Also present was The Honourable Michael Keenan, who congratulated the forum participants for showing real commitment to the shared future between Australia and Indonesia. Australia’s Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, also made a televised speech from the other side of the ocean.
Being a part of the supporting program for Indonesian and Australian businesses on the 31st of January was also incredibly insightful. A number of important voices in the startup space from both the founders side and the investors side came together to describe the challenges for building transnational private partnerships. To that end, a number of stakeholders were called on to voice their opinions. There were two panels, one facilitated by Convergence Ventures’ partner, Donald Wiharja, and the other by Algorith.ma’s managing director and co-founder, Nayoko Wicaksono. Some topics discussed were: “Will Indonesia’s payment process follow an American or Chinese model?” and “What are the challenges for e-commerce development in Indonesia?”. To answer, a number of industry leaders came together and drew on their vast experiences, notably: COO of Bukalapak, Willix Halim; founder of Acorns, George Lucas; the President of FinTech Australia and Managing Partner of Inventure, Simon Cant; as well as representatives from McKenzie Consulting, the Bank Central of Indonesia, and many other well-recognised speakers.
In addition to the fintech and startup stream that ANGIN participated in, there were a number of simultaneous discussions on the topics of digital health, cyber security, smart government, and creative digital industries. It was truly a comprehensive and informative few days.