Indonesian President leading tech mission to the US

Indonesian President Joko Widodo will be stopping by Silicon Valley next week to attract interest in his country’s digital and startup economy. He will be meeting with leading technology companies, including Apple, Google and Microsoft. He will also talk with venture capitalists and incubators during the trip which comes a year after he took office.

The President is taking along with him a group of local tech leaders, including heads of motorbike taxi app Go-Jek, e-commerce startup Tokopedia, online forum Kaskus, and air ticketing service Traveloka.

The entrepreneurs will be there to tell Silicon Valley companies about Indonesia’s markets and regulations, said Communications and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara.

“We have to show them what we have. That’s why I have asked technology entrepreneurs to accompany us”, he said. President Widodo will also present some of Indonesia’s top startups to hedge funds and venture capitalists in the US.

President Widodo’s Silicon Valley trip follows similar ones by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who both visited in September.