Go-Jek founder accepts Indonesian government role

It comes the day after President Joko Widodo was sworn in for a second term following a campaign in which he indicated he would appoint young business leaders to his cabinet. Makarim, 35, is expected to take up a ministerial role related to education or the digital economy, although there has been no formal confirmation. 

Kevin Aluwi, co-founder of Go-Jek, and Andre Soelistyo, president, will act as co-CEOs in the immediate term. "We have planned for this possibility and there will be no disruption to our business," Go-Jek said in a statement. "We will make an announcement on what this news means for Go-Jek within the next few days."

The change interrupts a Series F round for the start-up that is expected to raise around $2 billion at an enterprise valuation of $10 billion. The capital will fuel expansion in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, where the company is engaged in a fierce battle with Grab, its regional rival. Grab is currently raising its Series H round, which has a target of $6.5 billion and values the company at $10 billion.

Founded in 2010 as a motorcycle taxi service, Go-Jek has expanded into a number of divisions, encompassing areas such as ride-hailing, parcel delivery, online-to-offline services, and payments. It claims to be Southeast Asia's largest mobile-on-demand and digital payments platform, operating in more than 200 cities across five countries.

"We see the Go-Jek app as a big playground to test digital ideas," Makarim previously told AVCJ. "Not all of them are going to be successful, and we are fully cognizant of that, but we think we could easily get into the 20s of distinct products."

Singaporean-born Makarim hails from a prominent Jakarta family, with his grandfather having played a key role in Indonesia's independence movement. He was educated at Brown University and Harvard, receiving his MBA at the latter in 2011 during the early days of Go-Jek operations. Previous experience also includes roles at McKinsey & Company and e-commerce start-up Zalora.

His government appointment extends a theme in Indonesia of Western-educated professionals, who have succeeded in local business, ascending to positions of political power. From the PE community, Tom Lembong, former CEO of Quvat Capital, was named trade minister in 2015 and then became head of the Investment Coordinating Board. Meanwhile, Saratoga Capital's Sandiago Uno was elected deputy governor of Jakarta in 2017 before unsuccessfully running for vice president in this year's election.

The phenomenon is seen as a function of a relatively shallow talent pool locally due to fewer Indonesians going to foreign universities versus their Chinese or Indian counterparts. Those who do have this background typically come from established families and begin their careers in the family business.

Makarim's appointment can also be tied to Widodo's eagerness to foster a technocratic brand. Earlier this year, he personally recognized agriculture tech start-up TaniGroup on the presidential campaign trail. Meanwhile, his son, Gibran Rakabuming, has co-founded a VC-backed beverage start-up called Goola.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• People
• Indonesia
• Go-Jek
• Appointments