The recent controversy of ride sharing apps prohibition has left a bitter taste for Indonesian startup ecosystem. Not only causing a huge uproar in social media, this move sparked immediate response from members of people representative council, former Indonesian VP Boediono up to president Jokowi himself. In less than 24 hour, Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan has been forced to revert this decision due to the amount of negative reaction from the public.

On one side, the backlash showed that ride sharing apps have started to become an integral part of society especially in Jakarta. A good progress considering how recent the services was introduced in this market (Gojek started in 2010 while GrabTaxi entered Indonesia just last year). On the other side, the controversy highlighted further one of the biggest challenge in this country startup scene : uncertain regulation.

So looking forward, are there any other regulatory development that Indonesian startup founder and investors should be cautious about ? Below are some of my observation. Continue reading “Beyond ride sharing ban: potential new regulations in Indonesia that may affect startups” →