Gojek CEO Nadiem Makarim resigns, to join Indonesian cabinet

Nadiem Makarim, the founder and the CEO of an Indonesian company said that he has resigned from his post in the startup to join the cabinet of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The announcement by Makarim, which came two days after Widodo was sworn in for his second term, has taken many by surprise. The Indonesian President has previously expressed his wish to create a cabinet full of young business executives. 

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Future of 'Gojek'

Gojek spokesperson reportedly said that Andre Soelistyo, the Group President and Kevin Aluwi, the co-founder of Gojek will be taking over as co-CEOs of the Indonesian startup. Furthermore, the company was also “very proud” that its founder will take over an important role in moving Indonesia onto the global stage. It is also unprecedented for a local founder's vision to be recognised as a model to upscale an entire country. However. The startup had also planned this possibility in order to refrain from any disruptions in the company's business. Gojek is also considered as one of the five unicorns of Indonesia. The others include Traveloka, market places Bukalapak and Tokopedia, and fin-tech firm OVO, which competes with Gojek's own payments platform Gopay for the spot in Indonesia's online payments market.

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Makarim is honoured

Makarim has said that he was honoured with President's request to be a member of the cabinet. However, his position is still not disclosed but an announcement from the President himself is expected later this week. Makarim had founded Gojek back in 2010 which was a two-wheeler hailing service. Since then, the startup has also expanded to include various range of services like mobile payments, food delivery, online shopping, and the recently introduced video streaming and is valued at $10 billion. However, now the 35-year-old entrepreneur will take part in President Widodo's wish to develop Indonesia in the future including human capital, bureaucratic reform, and investment. 

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(With inputs from agencies)