Tokopedia Appoints Former Governor of Bank Indonesia as President Commissioner

Tokopedia announced the joining of former Governor of Bank Indonesia Agus Martowardojo as President Commissioner as of today (10/1). It is believed that the joining of Agus will strengthen Tokopedia's mission to develop the ecosystem menjadi infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) to empower the Indonesian economy inclusively, both online and offline.

"I see Tokopedia is very consistent in empowering the community through technology, so that the Indonesian economy can continue to grow in a strong, balanced and sustainable manner. I am happy to join Tokopedia and contribute my experience to support the company's goals," Agus explained in an official statement.

Agus Martowardojo was Governor of Bank Indonesia for the period 2013-May 2018. Previously he served as Minister of Finance (2010-2013) and President Director of Bank Mandiri (2005-2010).

Having a career as a banker for more than 30 years, Agus is active in maintaining the stability and resilience of the Indonesian economy through the management of the monetary mix and policies, macroprudential, payment systems, and a credible circulation of Rupiah.

He issued innovative policies, such as the "Bank Indonesia 7-day Reverse Repo Rate" which strengthened the transmission of monetary policy and integrated inflation control efforts throughout Indonesia.

While serving as Minister of Finance, Agus managed fiscal policy, increased state revenues, improved the effectiveness of state spending and governance. During his tenure, Indonesia achieved an upgrade of its debt rating from Fitch and Moody's to status investment grade.

Even so, while serving as President Director of Bank Mandiri, he strengthened the company's performance, developed strategic business units, suppressed non-performing loans, and others. Agus also developed the company's business through corporate actions in the form of acquisitions, j, and strategic alliances.

CEO and Co-Founder Tokopedia William Tanuwijaya said Agus' experience and wisdom would be invaluable in nurturing Tokopedia leaders and institutions to become a world-class technology company. His presence will strengthen the momentum of the company's performance, which is entering its 10th year in realizing the mission of digital economic equality.

Agus' presence as a senior figure in the ranks of top brass can certainly be considered a strategic maneuver to realize the company's ambitions. His mature experience in the government sector will be sufficient provision for Tokopedia when coordinating with regulators.

Not only Tokopedia, recruiting senior figures is also often done by most companies. Take for example, MoneyFriend recruit Firdaus Djaelani as an advisor. Firdaus previously served as Chief Executive of IKNB OJK and Former Minister of Finance (2013-2014) Chatib Basri is now an advisor at my capital.

Tokopedia Development

Previously, Tokopedia announced business achievements over the past year. Unfortunately no more detailed figures are mentioned. Tokopedia's GMV is claimed to grow 4 times year on year, transactions outside Java increased 66% and 25% of total sales of goods using same day service.

The sale of e-money balances at Tokopedia is likened to being able to be used to cross the Jakarta-Surabaya toll road as much as 120 thousand times. The total battery sold can power 100 electric motors.

For the hobbies and lifestyle categories, the total sales of M-Tix balances can be used to buy cinema tickets for 5 times the population of Padang city and the stickers sold are equivalent to 2 times the total population of the city of Surabaya.

Tokopedia also announced funding worth $1,1 billion (equivalent to 16 trillion Rupiah) led by SoftBank Vision Fund and Alibaba Group. Funding will be used to drive the development of technology and infrastructure that will empower millions of local businesses to grow and provide the best possible customer experience.