Access, Inclusion, and Sustainable Development for Underserved Consumers in Indonesia
Indonesia, a developing nation, faces unique challenges in terms of access and inclusion for its underserved consumers, especially in the 3T region. Indonesia has seen high growth in its internet population in recent years of rapid digitalisation, where we see an internet penetration of 77 percent, and a total of 353.8 million active cellular mobile connections in Indonesia. However there is still considerable room for the country to improve its digital infrastructure, especially in remote and sparsely populated areas.
According to the International Chamber of Commerce, the digital economy is worth US $11.5 trillion globally, equivalent to 15.5 percent of global GDP, and it has grown two and a half times faster than global GDP over the past 15 years. Indonesia’s digital industry has grown significantly from US$41 billion in 2019 to US$77 billion in 2022, and is expected to reach US$130 billion by 2025, driven primarily by e-commerce.
So how are the underserved keeping up with the nation’s economy as Indonesia strives to increase its digital competitiveness and infrastructure to become a global top economy?
Reaching and understanding the underserved
At SHAREit, our mission is to tear down barriers to digital inclusion in emerging markets and provide access to the underserved.
We conducted an offline survey conducted with our users in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Karawang Industrial New City, and Purwakarta and found that the key barriers they face are limited ROM (read-only memory) on their smartphones, and poor network connectivity.
Respondents in Purwakarta favour internet providers that offer free bonus mobile data plans such as Axis. Sharing of a Wi-Fi package among neighbouring households is also a common practice in local villages, resulting in reduced Wi-Fi connectivity.
According to Indonesian Internet Providers Association (APJII), the median mobile internet speed in Indonesia is at 16.52 megabits per second (Mbps), slower than its fellow neighbours. An overwhelming 95 percent of Indonesians with internet access do so through mobile data on their smartphones.
Therefore smartphone usage is a major avenue we can look at to reach the underserved population. Mobile connections in Indonesia are now equivalent to 128 percent of the total population as of January 2023. In our study, 85.3 percent of respondents currently own one phone and 14.2 percent own two phones.
This can be largely attributed to increasing affordability of entry-level smartphones. Our survey findings have shown that despite the recent increase in iPhone sales among the middle class, the best-selling phones are still Androids, with a price range of 2-3 million IDR.
Smartphones have now become the primary access route for enabling access to services that were previously beyond reach. This would include services such as education, healthcare, banking, and alternative ways of commerce.
By understanding the smartphone usage habits, preferences, and needs of Indonesians, we can help to identify opportunities for growth and development in the country, and increase access to digital services.
Uplift quality of life through being part of the digital economy
As the “plumbing” of Southeast Asia’s digital infrastructure, SHAREit helps ecommerce players understand and reach underserved consumers and digital banks to reach the unbanked.
Digital banking services have been providing respondents greater financial inclusion and economic empowerment.
Our study has revealed that digital banking services are the main use case for blue-collar workers on their smartphones. These respondents are mostly workers who have left their hometown to higher tier-ed cities in search of better employment opportunities. They typically come from a variety of backgrounds and ages, and access these services for loans, receiving salary, and remitting salaries back to their families residing in their hometown.
Aside from them, small business owners also highly utilise digital banking services. These respondents would include food vendors or store owners, usually operating in shopping centres or along the streets. They install financial tools such as e-wallets to facilitate payments for their businesses. Small business owners also typically operate a storefront on ecommerce platforms like Shopee, Tokopedia; or take on food orders from takeaway apps like Go-Food, Grab Food and Shopeefood.
Sustaining development for the underserved
Although smartphone penetration has reached much of the population in developing regions, we understand that they are still facing problems of access due to limitations of network connectivity and basic-feature phones.
SHAREit has been emphasising its localisation efforts through conducting offline surveys with its users, to analyse and achieve greater understanding of the cultural background and language environment of the region. Through adapting the app’s design, interaction, and functionality to each market, the usage of SHAREit helps to connect these digital services to deep pockets of people who need it most. With SHAREit’s near-field communication technology, file sharing, app sharing, and thus service sharing is being optimised for the underserved population by reducing usage of network connectivity.
This not only brings convenience, but also access by helping the underserved become part of the digital economy, and allow them to keep up in this digital era and contribute to the country’s growth and development.
