Indonesian president urges youths to expand entrepreneurship through digital economy

JAKARTA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday urged youths to engage in entrepreneurship so as to leverage from the nation's growing digital economy which was expected to value 130 billion U.S. dollars in the next five years.

Besides tapping the lucrative digital economy, the the president said youth involvement in entrepreneurship was essential as Indonesia sees lower entrepreneurs than par countries in the region.

Citing data released by the World Bank, the Indonesian president said entrepreneurs in the country only accounted for 3.3 percent of the total population.

That figure was apparently lower than in Singapore that reaches 7 percent, or in Malaysia and Thailand that are 5 and 4.5 percent respectively, he added.

"You should start it right although it would be hard in the beginning. The most important thing is to change the paradigm after you graduate from college," the president said in Entrepreneurs Wanted!, a national event to encourage people to run their own businesses in West Java capital of Bandung.

President Widodo, who is a former furniture businessman, encouraged people, particularly youngsters, to pick entrepreneurship for their future careers.

The president called on people to take advantage of rapid development in digital technology that allow extensive interaction and expressions to run their businesses.

The Indonesian government has launched the 2020 Go Digital Vision in 2015, targeting to become Southeast Asia's largest digital community by 2020.

It has issued economic reform package to facilitate e-commerce which along others make it easier for start-ups to register their business and running up their business. Enditem