Society Must Use Technology to Support Economic Growth

By : Herry Barus And Aldo Bella Putra | Thursday, September 20 2018 - 16:00 IWST

Kepala Bappenas Bambang Brodjonegoro. (Foto: IST)

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - Minister of National Development Planning / Head of Bappenas Bambang Brodjonegoro said Indonesia must be able to utilize technology to encourage higher economic growth.

"Improving technology is an opportunity that needs to be exploited because it has benefits that can be calculated, one of which is creating economic opportunities and bringing prosperity to all citizens," he said, in Jakarta, Wednesday (09/19/2018)

In addition, other benefits are offering competitive products and services in regional and international markets, and can also attract innovative companies and creative people to come and live in the country.

In 2015, as many as 93.4 million people in Indonesia were internet users and will continue to increase in the future.

"With Indonesia having one of the youngest, largest and most digital demographics in the world, this phenomenon is expected to drive economic growth," said Bambang.

According to him, social media currently plays an important role in helping fulfill the aspirations of the Indonesian people. With an open and up-to-date information network, it can be a driving force for economic growth.

"In 2017, information and communication grew by more than nine percent. Transportation and warehousing also grew high, more than eight percent. High growth in this sector was supported by an increase in electronic trade and transportation start-ups," said Bambang.

Based on data from the Ministry of Communication and Information, there are approximately 93.4 million internet users and 71 million users of smart phone devices in Indonesia. With so many internet users, the value of business in the network (online) or online in Indonesia alone reaches 12 billion US dollars.

Kominfo assessed, with the magnitude of the value of the online business, Indonesia has a great opportunity to become a new economic power in 2020. Even the potential of online businesses, whether online stores, "marketplace", or "e-commerce," can no longer be underestimated. (Ant)