ION, Indonesia's Digital Toll Road
Indonesia has spent more than two decades building the foundations of its digital economy. Hundreds of millions of people are connected to the internet. Digital payments have become part of daily life. Marketplaces have changed the way people shop, while technology companies have produced a new generation of entrepreneurs and created some of the largest digital businesses in Southeast Asia.
However, the next chapter can no longer be filled merely with building new applications, marketplaces or platforms. Indonesia needs shared digital infrastructure that can serve as a foundation for thousands of businesses, connect various ecosystems and open up broader economic participation.
This is where the strategic significance of Indonesia Open Network (ION) lies. ION is being developed as Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for trade: an open and interoperable network that connects buyer applications, seller applications, logistics providers, payment systems, financing institutions, insurance companies and various other digital services.
The principle sounds simple but carries enormous transformative power: Join Once. Sell Everywhere.
This concept positions ION not as a new marketplace that must wrest users away from other platforms. ION aims to become a connecting layer that enables various platforms and service providers to interact through shared protocols.
If successfully realised, ION could become a kind of digital toll road for Indonesian trade. Each participant retains its own business, brand, customers and advantages, but can connect to a far larger economic network.
From Platform to Infrastructure
Economic history shows that some of the most strategic assets are not companies that sell goods or services directly, but rather the infrastructure that enables other companies to grow.
Ports open trade flows. Roads bring producers together with markets. Telecommunications networks connect people. Payment systems smooth the circulation of money. In the modern economy, DPI can connect the entire trade ecosystem.
ION seeks to build that connecting layer for Indonesia’s digital economy. An open architecture allows banks to provide financing without having to build their own marketplace. Telecommunications companies can become gateways to trade without needing to control the entire supply chain. Logistics companies can obtain demand from various applications, while consumer applications do not have to own their own merchant networks and delivery fleets.
Each participant can concentrate on its core competencies while still benefiting from network scale. The investment proposition of ION therefore differs from investment in conventional technology companies. Investors are not merely betting on a platform competing for market share. They are helping to build infrastructure that could become a conduit for billions of transactions and services in the future.
Such opportunities do not appear in every investment cycle. They may only come once in a generation.
Why Strategic Capital Is Needed
National digital infrastructure cannot be built by government alone. Nor should it depend entirely on startups that are pressed to pursue short-term valuations and growth.
ION requires long-term capital, technological capability, institutional credibility, commercial discipline and commitment to the national interest. Its natural investors are therefore not limited to venture capital firms or technology investors.
ION needs institutions willing to be more than mere shareholders. They must become stakeholders in nation-building. For such institutions, the question is not only how much financial profit can be generated. The more strategic question is: what role should the institution play in building infrastructure that could shape Indonesian trade for decades?
Profit remains important. Infrastructure will not be sustainable without a sound business model. But the investment horizon must extend beyond quarterly financial reports. Its value lies in the combination of financial returns, strategic benefits for business and national economic impact.
Banks and the Future of Financial Distribution
For the banking industry, open digital trade has the potential to fundamentally expand the market for financial services. Millions of Indonesian SMEs do not yet have adequate digital transaction histories, formal financial statements or reliable credit profiles. As a result, many productive businesses are deemed too risky by the banking system, even though they have real sales and cash flow.
When trade transactions take place through an interoperable network, a digital trail is formed that—with the consent of data owners and proper governance—can help financial institutions understand the economic activity of business operators. Transaction data can then become one basis for assessment for payments, savings, working capital, merchant financing, insurance and other financial products.
Thus, a bank participating in ION is not merely investing in trade infrastructure. It is helping to build the distribution architecture for future financial services.
The question for major banks becomes highly relevant: if millions of businesses become increasingly active in transacting through open digital networks, will banks merely provide the payment rails, or will they help shape the network itself?