Pandemic Drives Technology Adoption, Investments in This Sector Promising

An illustration of utilising online loan offers for business development. JawaPos.com – A vast open market and the continuously increasing number of internet users have become supporting factors in the development of startup companies in Indonesia, particularly in the technology sector. Moreover, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has influenced societal behaviour, has maximised the utilisation of digital technology. As is known, several tech startups have recently listed on the stock exchange through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). This has become an interesting discussion topic at the Capital Market Fair themed ‘The Momentum of Capital Markets Towards Society 5.0 Era’, organised virtually by the Capital Market Study Group (KSPM) of the Faculty of Economics and Business at Diponegoro University on Sunday (29/8). As one of the discussion panellists, Director of Ultra Voucher Riky Boy Permata recounted the beginnings of the Ultra Voucher business, which involved selling conventional physical vouchers. Then, in 2017, this tech company, which has just conducted an IPO, saw the momentum to shift to digital products to provide convenience for consumers by creating an online platform called Ultra Voucher. ‘We saw an opportunity, a problem that we could solve with technology. In fact, during the pandemic, Ultra Voucher’s users and active users actually increased. Hopefully, going forward through the IPO, the company can continue to develop its business, further increase the profits generated, so as to provide more value and benefits to investors,’ Riky said in a written statement on Monday (30/8). Riky explained that the company has prepared various strategic steps for business development post-IPO, such as adding partnerships with various online platforms and digital banks, expanding the network to ASEAN, and also transforming services to become the leading platform in rewards and everyday services, while still strengthening the company’s main product, which is vouchers. ‘For that, thank you to the government which is increasingly facilitating digital technology industry players in carrying out IPOs so that our business can also achieve growth, as well as provide benefits to society through the products and services offered, and at the same time provide benefits for investment,’ Riky continued. The technology industry is considered the most potential sector in the capital market and also has very significant growth potential. However, Riky advised the public who want to invest to still understand the fundamentals of the company’s business. ‘How the company runs its business, generates profits, who its target market is, and consistency towards that market share. We also look at the annual increase in users, the number of transactions, and total revenue and profit. That can be an investment option. We are grateful that Ultra Voucher has always maintained that growth from year to year,’ Riky added. Also serving as a panellist on the same occasion, Telkomsel’s Head of Strategic Investment Nazier Ariffin agreed on the importance of studying the business model of the company to be invested in. Prospective investors can look at similar tech startups in the global market for comparison. ‘Pay attention to performance, what its expansion is like, expenses and revenue, market capitalisation, including top line when on the exchange and so on,’ Nazier explained. From a value perspective, investments in technology companies are indeed very attractive because their growth is faster in the coming years. Nazier himself predicts that over the next 10 years, there will be 100 to 150 technology companies that are likely to enter the stock exchange. Therefore, investors are encouraged to have broad knowledge before investing. ‘We ourselves over the past approximately two years have invested in various technology companies in Indonesia, and become a pipeline for those startups to gain access to consumers,’ said Nazier. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Telkomsel did not stop its investments in technology companies. Likewise, according to him, what happened macroeconomically, where Indonesia last year managed to record a surplus of up to USD 3 billion. This means the COVID-19 pandemic did not reduce investment values and processes, as well as the number of technology companies that tend to grow. In fact, more and more new unicorns are emerging.