ITDRI, Gojek Initiate Youth Program Forward Together with 1,000 Startups to Accelerate the Birth of Digital Talents in Eastern Indonesia

As a form of increasing the innovation index and digital talent in Indonesia, PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (Telkom) through the Indonesia Telecommunication & Digital Research Institute (ITDRI) together with Gojek collaborated to acquire digital talent and explore innovation, especially in Eastern Indonesia. covering Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua through the Young Forward Program with 1,000 Startups. 

The beginning of the implementation of this program was marked by the launching event of Muda Maju Bersama 1.000 Startup which was held online last Friday (16/7). 

The event was attended by Telkom Indonesia Director of Digital Business Fajrin Rasyid, Chairman of the Indonesia Telecommunication & Digital Research Institute Jemy Confido, Gojek Co-Founder & CEO Kevin Aluwi, and Gojek Head of Indonesia Regions Gede Manggala.

Strengthened by Telkom's dream to develop a digital ecosystem and world-class digital talent, the Muda Maju Bersama 1.000 Startup Program is here as a forum for Indonesian talents to be able to develop their skills and capabilities in the digital field and be able to freely explore and express innovative ideas to provide solutions that sustainable.

In his remarks the Director of Digital Business Telkom Indonesia, Fajrin Rasyid, gave a message to innovators and digital talent in Indonesia. “I want to give a reminder that if you want to develop a startup, don't think short term, you can succeed quickly, because in reality building a startup is not easy and very difficult. The way to increase success is to have a very big vision. When developing a startup and encountering problems, remember the vision earlier, that creating a startup is not easy and hopefully more innovations will emerge. Look back at the intention in developing a startup and hopefully it can support it to achieve success.”

Chairman of the Indonesia Telecommunication & Digital Research Institute, Jemy Confido said, "Mr. President Joko Widodo has given direction in the Indonesia Maju Program so that we can prepare as many as 9 million digital talents within the next 15 years, which means that every year we are expected to be able to produce 600 thousand digital talents. This is a very challenging number, and if you only expect it from formal education, then every year the number of college alumni who are ready to become digital talents is probably still under 100 thousand. So the country has a very large digital talent shortage or gap every year. So with the Young Forward Program Together with 1,000 Startups, Telkom and Gojek invite each other to raise enthusiasm so that they can be better prepared to become digital talents and innovators, especially in Eastern Indonesia."

Gojek's Co-Founder & CEO, Kevin Aluwi said, "In Indonesia, there is a gap where opportunities to enter this industry and build technology-based innovations are now mostly only in big cities, and mostly in Jakarta. We see that this program provides several benefits, for example participants will be accompanied and given assistance in developing their startup ideas in the form of intensive training for 6 months, including workshops, mentoring, and many opportunities to learn from experienced people.”

The Young Maju Bersama 1000 Startup Program will last for approximately 7 months with various activities that they can access through the Soundfren application. The types of activities are workshops, webinars, talk shows, podcasts, video learning and mentoring to support the development of digital talent capabilities. During the program period, participants will be accompanied and given guidance in developing a startup. The preparation of the curriculum will involve the collaboration of ITDRI which is a best practice in its field and the Gojek platform which in recent years has become a reference for young people in Eastern Indonesia in improving soft skills that are not obtained in formal institutions.