Bitcoin and CodingMum's Red Thread

This is not a story about bitcoin investing, but a story and an argument for why we should teach coding for our workforce.

A friend of mine once said, bitcoin is the only asset in the world that looks the same all over the world but its price varies depending on market. The form of bitcoin in Japan, in the United States, or in Indonesia is the same and can easily be distributed throughout the world.

There is no object in the world that looks the same in all countries so that it can have a significant difference whose price is determined by market prices. No rice, no apples, or not even durian. Apples in each country have their own uniqueness so that if you say the price of apples around the world is different, people will understand because the quality of apples in all countries is different.

What about electronics like Apple or Samsung? The shape is the same in all countries of course, but the price is determined by the manufacturer. The price of Apple or Samsung products in each country is only slightly different, so for us to buy in different countries only a slight difference depending on the currency exchange rate.

Things are different for bitcoin. Bitcoin has a different price in each country, depending on the supply and demand.

The price of bitcoin in one country can differ between 3-10% which causes buying and selling of bitcoin differences can be a profitable business. Bitcoin is a digital asset that is easily traded and liquidally easy to transfer.

Buyers from the United States can easily buy bitcoin from Indonesia at a price that may be cheaper and sell it in the United States at a higher price. This is an important strength of the same goods across countries at different prices.

Ability coding universal

In this digital age, the ability coding is a common science and standard in all countries. If someone understands in HTML, CSS, or Javascript programming, then skill the same is required in all countries.

Like bitcoin, standard skill The price is the same but the price is different in all countries. Programming knowledge in developed countries is valued at a high price, while in Indonesia it is priced at a lower price.

Programming systems are liquid. Para programmer Javascript in Indonesia can easily pick up projects in developed countries at quite expensive prices. All it takes is the will and desire to search for the project on the Internet.

In fact, what makes the price of labor in different countries different? Skill they? No. According to one theory, labor prices differ due to immigration policies.

An example is given of the parable of the different prices of labor in Sweden and India. The salary of a bus driver in Stockholm, Sweden (say his name is Sven) is 50 times the salary of a bus driver in Mumbai (say his name is Ajit). How can Sven get a salary 50 times bigger than Ajit. Does Sven have skill driving a bus 50 times better than Ajit? With Mumbai's chaotic traffic, it's likely that Ajit is much better at driving a bus than Sven in the more orderly city of Stockholm. So why is Sven's salary 50 times higher than Ajit's?

The Swedish government enforces an immigration policy, so Ajit cannot come to Stockholm and take Sven's job. All countries enforce this so as not to damage the cultural fabric of the country. Of course, one of the economic reasons for the immigration policy is to protect Sven from taking Ajit's job.

There are many other Ajit-Ajit in various fields, such as banking, medicine, or factory workers who are ready to take on other Sven-Sven jobs in developed countries. This requires immigration protection.

However, the above has no effect on the programming industry. Internet development and manufacturing management has developed sufficiently advanced that can be done anywhere. It is not necessary for everyone to sit in the same office, in the same city, or in the same country. Now easily functions divided and given to the programmer around the world. It's not all can be-outsourced because there is an IP problem rights, confidentiality and sensitivity; but at least 80% industrial jobs can be-outsourced around the world without difficulty.

In this industry we have no immigration problem. with ease programmer in Indonesia can take over the job programmer in Sweden using only project management tools via the Internet. We can sit in Yogyakarta and get a salary that is in theory more or less the same as programmer in Sweden for doing the same thing.

CodingMum

The above concept is a thesis CodingMum, a product of the Creative Economy Agency of the previous cabinet which was initiated by Mr. Triawan Munaf with me with the aim of teaching coding to Indonesian mothers.

The mothers who graduated from CodingMum, almost 1000 in number since 2016, many get interesting projects just by working from home. They actively look for projects from friends and also from the Internet. The benefits they get are extraordinary.

It is very inspiring to hear the testimonies of those who can earn between 3 million to 40 million Rupiah per month just by working from home.

They were able to help their husbands with the down payment on the car and some even said they contributed to the down payment on the house. They didn't even think that this could happen. There is a graduate from Surabaya who got a scholarship Apple Academy and 9 months later graduated and is fluent in programming for iOS applications.

Red thread

Looking at the results above, we are actually talking about skill that can change fate. Hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers (Indonesian Migrant Workers, substitutes for the word TKW) experienced the same change in fate in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia who also had the chance to experience the CodingMum program.

The housemaids, who are often considered lower class society, managed to change his fate. They surprised their employer, so that the employer gave the project to build their business website to the Indonesian migrant workers. There are others who decide they don't want to continue to be migrant workers and choose to return to being site builders, even though their employers are persuading them with the promise of increasing their salary.

Teach coding to the workforce can be a pretty good stepping stone for us in Indonesia. We can skip directly to industry 4.0 by teaching skills Programming to our children too. We can become hundreds of thousands or millions of new digital troops who are ready to enter the world of work with the strength of the Indonesian population. To build this industry, we don't need big capital because what we sell is intangible assets whose value can bemultiply easily.

Programming is skill premium. It's not easy to teach either. From thousands of participants, CodingMum has proven that everyone can be invited to enter the digital industry. Is it a housemaid, orphanage children, autistic children, blind people with disabilities (yep, can), the elderly--they all can understand the concept of this industry.

From the first few sessions, it was like Pandora's box was open. An enlightenment for them to start learning. It is possible to teach coding massively to the community.

There is one common thread in the testimonies of CodingMum graduates, whether they are housewives in big cities, small towns, or migrant workers: their husbands appreciate them more. Their husbands are usually surprised by their new abilities (and earnings). There are many heartwarming stories about CodingMum's social impact and indeed this should be the key to all activities that function to advance the economy.

In the end, the mothers became happier and more respected by their husbands. They will be seen by their children and will definitely try to pass on their knowledge to the child. In the end, the smallest unit of our society, the family, has a new dynamic to move forward because human dignity has been elevated.

- This guest article was written by Izak Jenny. Isaac is CEO of Jas Kapital and Co-Founder of MCAS Group.