November 21, 2025 | 05:51 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) delivered a speech at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2025 held in Singapore on Friday, November 21, 2025. Jokowi delivered the speech as a member of the Advisory Council of the Bloomberg New Economy.
In his speech, Jokowi outlined Indonesia's development over the past decade and its roadmap toward an intelligent economy. He referred to this as a new phase of global competition.
Jokowi began his speech by reflecting on his 10-year leadership in Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. He mentioned that the main challenge during his presidency was the fundamental yet simple question of how to build a strong economy for a population of 280 million.
"Change is never easy, but change is necessary," said Jokowi, as quoted from Bloomberg New Economy 2025's YouTube channel on Friday, November 21, 2025.
The father of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka explained that the development of physical and digital infrastructure was a priority. Without strong infrastructure, the economy would not be able to grow. He mentioned that roads, ports, airports, power plants, digital networks, data centers, and new satellites were the main foundations that had been built during his presidency.
According to Jokowi, the success of Indonesian startups and national digital transformation was not coincidental. He emphasized that before entering the era of the intelligence economy, a country must have two foundations: infrastructure and regulations that support innovation.
"Infrastructure provides the foundation for connectivity and data flow. The right regulations make the ecosystem grow stronger and faster," said Jokowi.
He cited Gojek, Tokopedia, Halodoc, Traveloka, and the QRIS payment system as results of the prepared ecosystem. He also mentioned the downstreaming and the electric vehicle battery industry as Indonesia's steps into the smart economy.
Jokowi stated that data and information are not just strengths but the nation's new capital. "The intelligence economy is built on how well we use data," said Jokowi.
He pointed out that the right policies begin with the ability to collect and analyze data. He emphasized the importance of training young people and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in digital skills, beginning with artificial intelligence (AI), coding, algorithms, and machine learning.
Jokowi also rejected the notion that the intelligence economy would eliminate jobs. "I strongly disagree when it is said that job opportunities will disappear," he said.
The former Governor of Jakarta believed that opportunities would actually increase if the community were prepared with strong digital literacy. He mentioned the regional phenomena that have become new strengths. For example, startups are growing in many Southeast Asian cities, millions of MSMEs are transitioning online, and new unicorns are emerging.
"The next unicorn could come from Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, or Hanoi," he said.
Jokowi subtly criticized the presence of global financial and trade institutions. He considered that the instruments and structure of the world economy were no longer relevant to the dynamics of the new economy.
"IMF and World Bank must redefine their financial instruments and digital infrastructure. WTO must redefine the trading system and tariffs. This redefinition can start from the education and health sectors," he said.
Jokowi predicted a revolution of humanoid robots, robots designed with bodies and behaviors resembling humans, and a large-scale AI within the next 5 to 15 years. "So, be prepared and stay alert," he said.
Jokowi mentioned an intelligence-based economy as the future, one that requires the integration of intelligence in governance, industry, and social systems. Countries capable of doing so will grow faster.
He also emphasized that Indonesia's transformation journey is not over. "We are still continuing to build with a strong foundation, innovation, and global collaboration. Indonesia and Southeast Asia will continue to grow in this new era," said Jokowi.
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