Heaptalk, Jakarta — The Indonesia-India Business Forum (IIBF) in partnership with the Indonesia Economic Forum (IEF) held a discussion on the topic of Fintech and Digital Banking – Opportunities in the Year of the Perfect Storms 2023 (01/18).
This event aims to increase digital literacy and the presence of skilled human resources to accompany the growth of new technologies, including financial technology and digital banking. Taking place at the Embassy of India, Jakarta, this forum presented keynote speakers from the Ambassador of India to Indonesia Manoj Kumar Bharti and the Ambassador of Indonesia to India Ina Krishnamurti.
Several prominent speakers from both countries also joined the panel discussion session, including the President Director of PT Bank Neo Commerce Tjandra Gunawan, Digital Business Director of Telkom Indonesia Muhamad Fajrin Rasyid, President Director of Bank SBI Indonesia Akash Shambhu Damniwala, and Founder of Ayoconnect Chiragh Kripalani.
Ambassador Manoj said, “In the midst of digital transformation happening across many industries, the banking and financing industries and particular, we are going through a major change that will affect billions of people worldwide at a very rapid pace.”
With the world conditions that are becoming increasingly volatile and uncertain for developing countries and other developed countries, the role of digital technology and financial technology which has been practiced in India has become a point to note a highlight.
According to Manoj, online banking which grew in India in the early 2000s has evolved into digital banking and has now turned into a booming industry. The value of digital banking in India reached $194 billion in 2022.
Indonesia and India are like twin brothers
Manoj said, “We have seen that the covid and, after that, the Ukrainian conflict has created havoc in the sector of food, energy, and fertilizer security. Capital flows have started constructing even as debt mounts. The big part of the game in the Indo-Pacific exaggerated the responsibilities of countries like ours to manage the geopolitical balance. When I say ours, they are actually referring to India and Indonesia with a lot of hyphenations and a lot of impacts.”
Further, Manoj conveyed that Indonesia and India share many similarities, spanning their system of government, level of economic development, and plans.
“We two seen to be like a twin brother, whether you talk of a system of governance, level of economic development, and the road ahead, the planning that is being done for the future. India has big plans when it completes 100 years of its independence in 2047. Indonesia has big plans to be in the ranks of developed countries by 2045,” voiced Manoj.
India aims to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2047 while Indonesia wants to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2045. In addition, the two countries both have large populations. Therefore, according to Manoj, the two countries have a responsibility to manage the geopolitical balance, especially amid current global volatility.
