Indonesia has launched the Indonesia Open Network (ION), a new open digital infrastructure aimed at expanding market access for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), marking a significant step in reshaping the country’s digital economy.
The initiative was unveiled at the Indonesia Economic Forum (IEF) 2026 in Jakarta and reflects deepening cooperation between Indonesia and India on building inclusive and interoperable digital public infrastructure.
ION is designed as a shared digital layer that allows multiple buyer applications, seller platforms, payment systems, and logistics providers to interact through common standards. The stated objective is to reduce transaction costs, limit dependence on closed digital ecosystems, and enable MSMEs across Indonesia’s archipelago to participate more fully in digital commerce.
Speaking at the forum, Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Sandeep Chakravorty said Indonesia is well placed to adapt lessons from India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and move faster in implementation.
Noting that Indonesia’s long-standing economic growth rate of around 5 per cent requires new structural tools to support the government’s ambition of reaching 8 percent growth, he said open digital networks such as ION could provide leverage by expanding markets for small businesses that remain productive but geographically and digitally constrained.
Without access to sufficiently large and open markets, MSMEs struggle to generate surplus value, while open networks allow sellers in remote areas to reach consumers far beyond their immediate surroundings, enabling scale without being forced into high-cost platform ecosystems, he added.
While India was among the first countries to implement an open architecture for digital commerce, he expressed confidence that Indonesia could become one of the fastest adopters by benefiting from both India’s early successes and its implementation challenges.
Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Nezar Patria described ION as a national strategy rather than a technology product, saying the network is intended to connect buyers, sellers, payments, and logistics through interoperable standards.
This would give MSMEs greater choice and control while lowering barriers to entry, similar to the logic behind Indonesia’s QRIS payment system, where interoperability allows users on different applications to transact seamlessly, he said.
The launch of ION also reflects broader strategic alignment between Jakarta and New Delhi on digital public infrastructure as a development tool.
During President Prabowo Subianto’s state visit to India in January 2025, cooperation on digitalisation featured in bilateral discussions, with both sides agreeing to deepen collaboration in digital trade, capacity building, and cybersecurity.
Chakravorty said the initiative is designed to empower entrepreneurs rather than concentrate market power, adding that open and interoperable systems are increasingly viewed globally as a counterweight to monopolistic digital models and a foundation for inclusive growth in Global South economies.
