Indonesia Digital Strategy: Connectivity as Trust

RRI.CO.ID, Davos – Indonesian government is signalling a shift in Indonesia’s digital future. The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs announced that the government is moving away from measuring success solely by "connectivity expansion," instead prioritizing a "trust-first" framework to stabilize the nation’s $360 billion digital economy.

Director General for the Digital Ecosystem of the Ministry, Edwin Abdullah, spoke about the 6Cs digital framework (Connectivity, Capital, Competency, Commerce, Compliance, and Catalysis). He gave his presentation in a panel at annual World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, 21 January 2026.

He also mentioned the connectivity as trust. According to him, Indonesia will prioritize establishing a foundation of trust before pushing for aggressive commercial growth.

According to him, many digital economies fail because they ignore the proper "sequence" of development. Under the new framework, Indonesia will prioritize establishing a foundation of trust before pushing for aggressive commercial growth.

“You need to get trust before you grow. You need to have the capability before you go commerce. You need the directions before you direct your capital,” he stated. “Capital without directions, business without trust, commerce without capability will go nowhere. That will be the stumbling block of the growth of our digital economy.”

The Ministry's strategy redefines connectivity not just as the physical act of transferring data, but as a commitment to security. The Director General also identified four interconnected pillars, Connectivity, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, and Trust, which he described as "four tangos" that must move in unison.

Following this "trust" sequence is the implementation of the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Law. He revealed that the discussions are ongoing regarding the establishment of a dedicated government body for data protection.

The debate currently going in the Ministry on whether this body will sit under them or operate as an independent institution directly under the President, a model done by many other countries.

“Because this institution is going to be the guard of our data protections. The ministry should be the one who foster the growth. But growth without protections means no trust,” he said.

The final piece of the strategy, "Catalysis," marks a shift in the government’s role from a service provider to an orchestrator. He talked about how the government planned to create an IP economy as part of the digital innovation hub.