Alpha JWC Ventures Highlights Fintech and Big Data as Digital Innovation Trends in Indonesia

Yesterday (30/3) venture capital Alpha JWC Ventures held a conference at the Kempinski Hotel, Jakarta with the theme “Next Wave of Technology Disruption in Indonesia”. At the conference, there were two sectors that Alpha JWC Ventures highlighted to become the next digital innovation trend in Indonesia, namely: fintech and big data.

The conference was also attended by several figures and business leaders in their respective sectors. Some of them are Indonesian Trade Minister Thomas Lempbong, Veteran Banker Arwin Rasyid, Net Mediatama CEO Wishnutama Kusubandio, Mediatrac CEO Regi Wahyu, Mediatrac CTO Imron Zuhri and several portfolio companies Alpha JWC Ventures.

Jeffrey Joe, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Alpha JWC Ventures, explained in his session that E-commerce and marketplace currently it is the most sought after sector in Indonesia with respective percentages of 21 and 17 percent. Even so, fintech and big data showed a significant increase in the figures of 10 percent and 7 percent.

Financial technology and banking industry

In the first panel discussion session that focused on financial technology, veteran banker Arwin Rasyid believes that banks in Indonesia are currently in a complicated situation due to technological developments. Arwin also said that currently, banks are still reluctant to enter into the field mobile devices then it was the same as he was out of the competition.

Arwin said, “The millennial generation will shape how banks operate [in Indonesia], because they digitally savvy. […] The bank is well established and full of rules, that's why banks should embrace startups fintech. […] Banks don't look at them [startup fintech] as a rival, but see as a complement. It's not a good idea if banks have to compete with startups fintech. "

Meanwhile Co-founder and Managing Partner Will Ongkowidjaja said that it is important for startups in the financial sector to find investors who are experienced in the same field. From there, apart from being helped to form a good business model, startups can also be helped to sit down and discuss with regulators.

Big data and impact on various companies

In the second discussion panel, the topic discussed is about big data and its impact on various industries. Mediatrac CEO Regi Wahyu said, currently data is still dominated by internet consumers, but in the future it will soon move to industrial consumers, and will be followed by internet-based governance.

Big data technology is indeed happening in Indonesia at this time, although it has not yet become hyping of e-commerce. The challenge now is how companies optimize their data to have a positive impact.

Founder of Sepulsa Ananto Wibisono believes that implementation big data the company is not an easy thing to do. Even so, he also believed that big data in itself is a good long term investment for the company.

NET Mediatama founder and CEO Wishnutama Kusubandio said that the media that will survive in the next five years are those that can take advantage of big data optimally possible. Vishnu believes that big data will be useful for any content created by the media, not only for targeted distribution, but also for monetization.

Alpha JWC Ventures is an independent, institutional venture capital firm that invests in early-stage or emerging technology companies with a key market focus in Indonesia. There is no specific target sector, Alpha JWC Ventures only seeks to add value to startup founders in building their companies. Some of Alpha JWC Ventures' portfolios include Mediatrac, Kredivo, Modalku, Sepulsa, Jualo, UangTeman and Asmaraku.