{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1857453,
        "msgid": "economist-domestic-funding-provides-support-for-local-startups-1783954614",
        "date": "2026-07-13 20:47:09",
        "title": "Economist: Domestic funding provides support for local startups",
        "author": "",
        "source": "ANTARA_ID",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Economy",
        "summary": "An economist has urged greater domestic venture capital involvement to ensure the sustainable growth of Indonesian digital startups, noting that currently only a small fraction of funding originates locally. The call follows recent layoffs at TikTok-Tokopedia, which the economist attributes to inevitable post-merger efficiencies and the global parent company's focus on profitability ahead of a potential IPO. He also stressed the government must guarantee the full payment of severance and other rights for affected workers.",
        "content": "<p>Jakarta (ANTARA) - Nailul Huda, Director of Digital Economy at the\nCenter of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), believes that domestic\nfunding can provide more sustainable support for local digital\ntechnology startups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope there will be funding from within the country capable of\nmeeting the demand of local digital startups. So far, only around a\ndozen per cent of funding has come from domestic sources. I hope\ndomestic venture capital firms can provide full support,\u201d Huda said when\ncontacted in Jakarta on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>He made the remarks following the \u2018talent restructuring\u2019 carried out\nby digital companies in Indonesia, including TikTok-Tokopedia, some time\nago.<\/p>\n<p>Huda assessed that acquisitions without efficiency measures or\nworkforce streamlining are difficult to avoid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn every acquisition, there will certainly be similar work units and\ncosts that should be made more efficient. So layoffs become the easiest\noption for the acquiring company. That is why I say these layoffs are\nthe fruit of the merger,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Huda noted that another factor behind digital companies\nstreamlining their organisations is the company\u2019s financial\ncondition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is especially true for global companies with high cost burdens.\nWhen profitability becomes a requirement, what they do is reduce costs.\nThey also need to improve their balance sheets to look good in the eyes\nof investors,\u201d Huda said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestors today look not only at valuations but also at track\nrecords of profits or the potential for future profits,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>He cited the example of how holding companies such as ByteDance,\nwhich oversees TikTok, want to conduct an initial public offering\n(IPO).<\/p>\n<p>This means the parent company will choose to pursue efficiency, so\nnational interests have less influence over the strategy of the\ncompanies they acquire, such as Tokopedia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is why I hope what has happened at Tokopedia does not happen to\nother digital startups,\u201d Huda said.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond encouraging sustainable domestic funding for local digital\ncompanies, he also hopes the government can ensure the rights of\nlaid-off workers are protected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government must also ensure that the rights of laid-off workers\nare paid in full by the company. Workers who are laid off must not\nsuffer any losses. The government must make sure severance pay and so on\nare paid by the company,\u201d Huda said.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/economist-domestic-funding-provides-support-for-local-startups-1783954614",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}