Indonesia, the land of 1 000 000 000 000 opportunities

In my old blog, I described only briefly my interest in the huge opportunities that the Indonesian Market represents. For me, the interest in this market mainly falls under three categories:

Growth and Innovation

Indonesia has had a fantastic growth in the post-dutch era, with some serious growing pains as any emerging market has. This growth is anticipated to slow down somewhat in 2013 (5.9% WB estimate), but remains at a very high level. If you are doing or consider doing business in Indonesia, I recommend reading the World Bank's report "Indonesia Economic Quarterly: Adjusting to pressures" released July 2, 2013. The nature of Innovation in emerging markets is very different from innovation in established "western" economies. I am very lucky to be in a position where I can support and be inspired by young Indonesian entrepreneurs. Innovation can be found with the water salesmen who make a living selling water during rush traffic, but also within young educated businesswomen and men who have a drive unlike any I have witnessed elsewhere.

Untapped potential current and future

The sheer number of Indonesians that can be considered. I have first-hand experience from a few sectors and rely on reports and public information to stay up-to-date on others. For a brief overview of the Indonesian market potential, head over to Campaign Asia-Pacific and check out the article: "Indonesia: Asia's $1 trillion opportunity". McKinsey & Company have released an interesting in-depth report on the topic and I recommend checking it out: "The Archipelago Economy: Unleashing Indonesia's Potential".

Diversity of market

Indonesia is home to over 300 distinct native ethic groups and over 700 languages and dialects. The common tongue "Bahasa Indonesia" is considered the first language of only 23 million (or about 10% of the population). Indonesia is a member of G-20 and well on its way to becoming a G-8 country by 2030. The number of "Middle-Class and Affluent Consumers" is rapidly growing and is set to double by 2020 according to BCG's "Indonesia’s Rising Middle-Class and Affluent Consumers". Addressing such a complex market and navigating the opportunity represents a great challenge, to learn more about this I recommend McKinsey & Company's "Understanding the diversity of Indonesia’s consumers".

The opportunity to do business in the unique market that early 21'st century emerging markets presents is a true privilege and challenges are lining up for this young management consultant. I am hungry for knowledge and am excited about supporting Indonesian and multinational organisations take part in this rapid development.