Game Changers
Three of Indonesia’s most successful youngsters, Ronald Akili, Nadiem Makarim and Rio Haryanto, are taking centre stage and transforming the business landscape 152
ith indonesia booming in opportunities for the country’s “Generation T”, some have taken an extra leap towards building a sustainable future and at the same time putting Indonesian entrepreneurship on the global map. These include Ronald Akili, the mastermind behind Potato Head Beach Club Bali, Nadiem Makarim, founder of Go-jek, and Rio Haryanto, Indonesia’s first Formula One racer.
These three pioneers are bright, driven and talented, but, most importantly, they are all relatively young. Firstly, there’s Ronald Akili, the 35-year-old behind one of Bali’s most happening beach clubs in one of the island’s most notable areas, Seminyak. Potato Head Beach Club Bali is truly a “made in Indonesia” product and one that Ronald aims to take onto the global stage.
Although it has been a major undertaking to get this far and an even bigger effort in maintaining the highest standards as one of Bali’s must-visit venues, factors such as inspiration from architecture, music, fashion, food and nightlife are ongoing processes in its success. Most of its mission of taking Indonesia forwards, Ronald says, is not merely for the sake of his company’s branding but also to show to the world that Indonesia is truly a special country.
Of course, it’s one thing to elevate Indonesia onto a global pedestal, but it’s a whole different ball game to make an opportunity out of the country’s worst nightmares: the unrelenting, world-infamous traffic snarls. So hats off, then, to Nadiem Makarim for one of Indonesia’s hottest tech brainchildren, Go-jek.
With the meteoric rise of smart phones in Indonesia, Nadiem jumped at the opportunity of making something big out of this trend. He believed that Indonesia was leading the pack in the mobile revolution in Southeast
Asia and possibly the world. Despite facing fierce competition in the market with the internationally recognised Uber, Nadiem is fixed on welcoming, and learning from, competition.
And then there’s Rio Haryanto, our currently reigning international sporting superstar, who has given Indonesia the opportunity of being recognised all over the world. Rio, at 23, is the first Indonesian Formula One racer and is making history by competing against big names such as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at the Grand Prix Level.
Rio is currently still competing in the smaller teams and hopes to fight in the world championship in the years to come. Although Rio knows he hasn’t reached his high water mark just yet, with an attitude like his and his undying faith in his dreams and ambitions, nothing can stop him.
Other than their mutual success in sport, technology and the food and beverage industries, these three young men share another common trait: they are all Indonesian and are all passionate about changing the game domestically and internationally. Hats off to them!