Indonesia's tech soul is on the line

Southeast Asia’s tech landscape is bracing for a tectonic shift. Reports emerged this week that Grab Holdings Ltd., the Singapore-based ride-hailing giant, is raising capital to acquire GoTo Group, a consumer tech company and one of Indonesia’s most valuable startups. 

GoTo - born from the 2021 merger of Gojek and Tokopedia - has been a cornerstone of Indonesia’s digital economy. The GoTo ecosystem offers mobility, delivery and financial services, as well as extends e-commerce services through Tokopedia and banking solutions through its partnership with Bank Jago. 

The potential deal isn’t just a juicy headline for the daily’s business section; it’s a litmus test for the country to retain control over its technological destiny, especially after losing Tokopedia’s e-commerce arm to TikTok in early 2024 . 

At its heart lies a critical concept: platform power - the leverage a nation wields when it owns the enterprises driving its economy. 

As Jakarta weighs the implications, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Homegrown brands feeling the heat
GoTo is no ordinary company. It’s an economic engine, contributing an estimated 2% to Indonesia’s $1.37 trillion GDP in 2023, according to World Bank figures - roughly $26 billion in annual impact. 

With two million drivers powering its Gojek arm and 14 million merchants on Tokopedia , GoTo processed ride-hailing and delivery transactions worth $3 billion in 2024 alone. The sheer scale of its business has made it a linchpin of Indonesia’s tech ecosystem, supporting livelihoods of multitudes, from urban drivers to rural sellers.

Cracks have begun to appear in its foundation, though. In January 2024, GoTo sold a controlling stake in Tokopedia to TikTok for over $1.5 billion, ceding one of its crown jewels to a Chinese tech giant after regulatory pressure forced TikTok to partner locally to resume e-commerce operations in Indonesia. 

The deal eroded GoTo’s e-commerce muscle, leaving Gojek as its primary driver. Once a symbol of Indonesia’s startup ambitions, GoTo’s reduced scope makes it a juicier target for Grab - and a stark reminder of how quickly platform power can slip away. 

As one of Southeast Asia’s rare unicorns - companies valued over $1 billion- GoTo still carries national weight, but the Tokopedia’s loss underscores the fragility of that status. 

Regional powerhouse in the making
For Grab, the acquisition makes strategic sense. Valued at $18 billion, the company reported $2.8 billion in revenue in 2024, an 18% jump year-over-year , and serves 43 million monthly users across  eight countries. Acquiring GoTo could create a $40–50 billion powerhouse, blending Grab’s regional reach with GoTo’s 60 million active users. Analysts see potential for a dominant player in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market, projected to reach $280 billion by the end of the decade. 

The upside is tangible: expanded operations could generate thousands of new jobs, building on GoTo’s existing two million-strong driver base. 

Enhanced scale might also accelerate innovation - think AI-optimized logistics or seamless cross-border payments - positioning the combined entity to compete with global heavyweights like Amazon or Singapore’s Sea Group, which already claims 40% of Indonesia’s e-commerce via Shopee. 

For Indonesia, a stake in this regional titan could amplify its voice on the global stage, provided it retains influence post-deal.

Gig workers and national leverage at stake
The sheen fades when viewed through the lens of Indonesia’s gig economy.  

Gojek’s two million drivers are a case in point. A 2022 study in Jakarta found that 70% depend on the platform as their primary income, earning $150–$200 monthly after expenses  - near Indonesia’s minimum wage. Incentives have already shrunk amid rising competition. GoTo’s domestic roots have kept it attuned to these workers’ needs, balancing profit with local realities. 

A Grab-led future might shift that dynamic. Its track record offers clues: in Singapore, driver commissions fell, prompting protests. Extending that approach to Indonesia’s larger, less-regulated market could exacerbate pressures on an already fragile workforce. 

Platform power is a safeguard - when a platform prioritizes national interests, worker welfare potentially triumphs shareholder value. If GoTo’s ownership moves offshore, Indonesia risks losing that buffer, leaving gig workers exposed to decisions made far from Jakarta’s streets.

Shaping the future 
Indonesia isn’t powerless. Governments worldwide have tools to manage such shifts - antitrust reviews, local ownership mandates, or worker protection clauses. 

India offers a playbook: its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed $1.5 trillion in transactions in 2024 , bolstering domestic platforms while keeping foreign players in check. Jakarta could impose conditions on the Grab-GoTo deal - say, retaining a minority stake or mandating gig worker benefits - to preserve its power.

The country’s 2020 Omnibus Law already aims to boost digital investment - tweaking it to exert local control could be a start.

Timing matters, too. Indonesia’s digital economy is projected to reach up to $360 billion by 2030, per e-Conomy SEA 2024 Report , with GoTo as a key driver. 

Letting it slip away risks stunting that growth - or worse, ceding it to rivals. Regulators have flexed before: in 2023, they tightened rules on foreign e-commerce to protect local firms . A similar move now could ensure this merger doesn’t hollow out Indonesia’s tech ambitions.

This isn’t about blocking progress - it’s about shaping it. Platform power, in this context, is more than mere market share; it’s about sovereignty over a digital ecosystem that shapes – and funds - daily life. A handover to Grab risks diluting that influence, raising questions on the potential custodians of Indonesia’s tech future.

Solution: All stakeholders - regulators, startups, and the workforce - should be asking the same questions. And they must be aligned with national interests. 

Rianovel Mare is a consultant and project manager at DinarStandard