The Indonesian Way: Working in Indonesia
Adapting as an expat in Southeast Asia’s largest startup ecosystem
Indonesia is famous for its sand-swept beaches, coral reefs, and dense jungles. But beyond the tropical landscapes for which Indonesia is renowned, another ecosystem has been heating up over the past decade.
Indonesia’s startup ecosystem is one of the hottest in the world. By one measure, the country’s internet economy grew at a 49% CAGR from 2015–2019, according to joint research by Google and Bain & Company. Indonesia more broadly was the 3rd-fastest growing economy over the last 5 years, trailing only China and India.
Indonesia’s technology potential is fueled by its size and level of mobile engagement. With a population of over 260 million people, Indonesia is the 4th most populous country in the world, behind only China, India, and the United States. Indonesians are also the 3rd most digitally engaged population in the world. At nearly 5 hours per day, Indonesians spend twice as much time on mobile devices than their American counterparts.
As a result, it is only fitting that external investments and people will increasingly pour into the Indonesian archipelago. Six months ago, I entered the fray, leaving my New York consulting job for an Alter Product Fellowship at Kargo, a fast-growing logistics startup based in Jakarta.
Arriving in the vibrant capital, I was struck by the dichotomy of modernity and lacking infrastructure. Glittering skyscrapers towered over makeshift homes and open sewers. Though the city is full of global influences, I found information about technology work in Indonesia to be sparse and I arrived with zero understanding of Indonesia’s cultural nuances. I spent my first few weeks in a cultural fog, stumbling through interactions without grasping how Indonesians work and live.
This article is meant to share my experiences working in Indonesia. In particular, as a product manager at an Indonesian technology venture, two factors have been critical to creating impact: adapting to local working culture and understanding the reality of local users.
Adapting to Indonesian Working Culture
Indonesian working culture contrasts from Western working cultures. Though I expected my colleagues in Jakarta to differ from my colleagues in Manhattan, I was unsure how exactly those differences might manifest. Initially, I worked as I normally did in the United States, not realizing that my American tendencies clashed with Indonesian norms in ways both anticipated and unforeseen.
Erin Meyer, a professor of cross-cultural management at INSEAD and author of The Culture Map, offers a helpful framework for how cultures vary across countries. In her book, she identifies two dimensions along which Indonesia is especially different from the West.
Communicating: Is communication low-context (simple, verbose and clear), or high-context (rich, deep meaning in interactions)?
In terms of communication, Indonesia ranks among the most high-context in the world (together with South Korea and Japan). In contrast, the United States, my home country, ranks as the most low-context in the world. As a simple rule of thumb, this means that a statement in the United States will be more descriptive when made in Indonesia.
Based on my experiences, communicating in the proper way can make all the difference in being both understood and credible. Through my own mistakes, I’ve learned a few principles for thoughtful communication:
- Reiterate points for emphasis. Americans value precise language. But in Indonesia, points are often evolved over multiple documents, messages, and meetings before they are taken seriously. Over time, I learned to not take it personally if I had to reiterate myself a few times before being heard.
- Meetings are essential to make progress. American tech companies view meetings as evil; Elon Musk famously suggested walking out of meetings that were deemed useless. But in Indonesia, documents and emails nearly never suffice to align stakeholders, generate buy-in, and hash out details. I gradually realized that skipping meetings or sending someone as a replacement, which is common in the US, will only result in being left out in Indonesia.
- Expect spontaneous conversations. Interruptions happen often and can last quite a while, not like the US where people like to be “in the zone” and deflect conversation. I’ve learned to expect these spontaneous interruptions and have adjusted my schedule to squeeze in heads-down time in the early morning while the office is still quiet.
Disagreeing: Are disagreements tackled directly, or do people prefer to avoid confrontations?
According to Meyer, Indonesians prefer harmony (similar to the Japanese). Feelings are protected, but consequently, the tone of “Yes” can separate agreement from disagreement.
Understanding Indonesia’s culture of disagreement has been the most difficult adjustment for me, as it required rewiring my reactions. Through many lessons learned, I’ve started keeping the following guidelines in mind:
- Reading between the lines is important. When I first arrived, I thought I was making great progress on projects because of all the “okays” I heard. In reality, I was oblivious to my colleagues’ concerns, ultimately delaying progress as I tried to push forward without even noticing that disagreements existed. Since my first few months, I’ve become more attuned to tone and phrasing, with an understanding that opinions can be nuanced and must be inferred.
- Confrontation can ruin trust and relationships. At first, I stated open disagreement with the American mindset that directness is more efficient. But what I viewed as efficiency was instead interpreted as harsh. Instead of receiving my disagreement, my collaborators simply turned away and continued on their original path, except now without me. As a solution, I learned to alter my reactions to be more subtle, polite, and collaborative.
- Decisions tend to be made collectively, usually along the path of least disagreement. Decisions, especially those that require tradeoffs, are sometimes unspoken. I found this surprising, since my consulting job enjoyed highly specific conclusions. But to reduce conflict, decisions are often inferred from sentiment, without needing to be stated outright.
Although adapting to the cultural nuances of Indonesia can be quite challenging, with enough patience and tact, all expats can empathize and communicate in the Indonesian way.
The WhatsApp Reality
The expectations of users in emerging markets, including Indonesia, differ greatly from more mature markets.
In mature markets like the US, commercialized technology began with dial-in internet, landlines, and fax. Indonesia, however, was a mobile-first country with relatively recent smartphone penetration. As a result, the expectations of Indonesian users were set by Facebook (including WhatsApp), Google (including YouTube), and local super apps such as Gojek and Tokopedia.
For many Indonesians, Facebook is the internet. This is because Facebook provides free internet access to its product suite in many emerging markets, so that users can still use Facebook even without a data plan.
In fact, many users are unaware that this is happening: 11% of Indonesians who use Facebook also stated they do not use the internet.
In practical terms, building products for Indonesian users must baseline off Facebook, Google, and Gojek since Indonesian consumers have already incorporated these products into their daily lives.
In the case of trucking, the industry that Kargo is entering, WhatsApp is especially prominent. Under the normal flow, manufacturing companies post in WhatsApp groups containing hundreds of trucking companies when they need to find trucks. Naturally, trucking companies see these messages instantly — notifications from manufacturers appear next to notifications from family and friends. The two parties can negotiate and reach an agreement in a matter of minutes. Indeed, this WhatsApp reality is why Indonesians spend those 5 hours per day engaged with their phone.
As we build products at Kargo, we’ve had to understand and adapt to the behavior of our users. Specifically, we build our products to complement WhatsApp, filling gaps that basic chat cannot cover; for example, pricing algorithms and shipment tracking. But when it comes to chat — say, negotiating a match or inquiring for more details on a shipment — we happily redirect users to WhatsApp.
Looking forward
With the 4th largest population in the world, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, and the interest of investors from around the world, the Indonesian growth story has only just begun. Silicon Valley giants have already taken notice, and it’s only a matter of time before Jakarta is regarded in the same vein as San Francisco, Singapore, or Berlin. With stunning geography and welcoming people to go along with burgeoning economic opportunity, more and more expats will follow their dreams to Indonesia.
In order for these expats to be successful, they must adapt to the Indonesian Way. By communicating with more context, expressing disagreement with subtlety, and accepting the reality of Indonesian users, those dreams can become a reality.
For the last five months, Eric has been an Alter Fellow at Kargo, a logistics startup based in Jakarta. At Kargo, Eric has helped with product management and product strategy for their SME and Enterprise Shippers. Eric has also seen Kargo grow from 50 to 100 employees over the last 6 months. Before Alter, Eric worked as a Business Analyst at McKinsey in NYC, and studied Computer Science at Dartmouth. In his free time, he enjoys playing futsal and basketball. During his Alter Fellowship, Eric has enjoyed traveling around Indonesia and Asia, as well as visiting Jakarta’s many malls.
