Minister Meutya Hafid Stresses Importance of Strengthening Digital Ecosystem

Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid has emphasised the importance of strengthening the layers of the digital ecosystem to drive sovereignty and productivity. Speaking at the Asia Economic Summit 2026 in Jakarta on Wednesday, Meutya explained that the digital ecosystem consists of four layers, starting with a physical infrastructure foundation such as networks, fibre optics, data centres, devices, towers, and satellites. The next layer comprises virtual infrastructure, including cloud computing, computing power, and digital rails that make services reliable and secure. The third layer consists of platforms and intermediaries such as marketplaces, payment systems, identity systems, and logistics platforms that connect producers and consumers. The top layer is made up of services and applications like e-commerce, fintech, healthtech, and public services that people use daily. Strengthening these layers, she continued, is achieved through six capabilities referred to as the 6Cs: Connectivity and Compute, which integrates regional computing capacity; Capital; Competence through talent and training; Commerce through open standards and mutual recognition, such as the QRIS model for payment systems; Compliance; and Catalyst to accelerate the ecosystem. Meutya also noted that Indonesia is now the largest digital economy in ASEAN, valued at approximately USD 100 billion, with 220 million internet users and extensive mobile connections. This growth has been supported by the national payment system QRIS, which has built public digital infrastructure and is now being adopted by neighbouring countries. Additionally, Indonesia has secured major investment commitments in artificial intelligence and cloud computing from Microsoft, Nvidia, Indosat, and other parties. ‘While many countries have either scale or digital depth, Indonesia has both. This combination can give rise to a true regional economic power,’ she said.