JAKARTA, Indonesia — 13 July 2026 — Indonesia and India marked a new milestone in their strategic digital partnership with the launch of the Indonesia Open Network (ION), a national open digital commerce infrastructure designed to create an interoperable marketplace where Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), farmers, cooperatives, traditional markets and local businesses can transact across multiple applications and platforms without being locked into a single digital ecosystem.
The launch was welcomed by President Prabowo Subianto and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of the key announcements during the bilateral visit to Indonesia. The initiative comes under the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Digital Development signed by the two countries in January 2025, reaffirming the shared commitment of both nations to collaborate on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital innovation.
In their Joint Statement, the two leaders welcomed the launch of Indonesia Open Network (ION), based on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) architecture in India, to increase the participation of Indonesian MSMEs in the digital economy through digital networks.
The announcement represents one of the most significant collaborations in Southeast Asia to build Digital Public Infrastructure for commerce, bringing together the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Kementerian UMKM), the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (KomDigi), APINDO, SMESCO Indonesia, a consortium of Indian Digital Public Infrastructure experts and technology companies that contributed to India’s pioneering Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), together with Indonesia Open Network (ION) and its Indonesian ecosystem partners to establish the next generation of Indonesia’s digital commerce infrastructure.
In the coming months, a broader cross-section of related Ministries, service providers and corporates will join the network to make this a foundational infrastructure for the Indonesian digital economy.
Empowering Indonesia’s MSMEs
Indonesia today has one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies. Yet millions of MSMEs, farmers, cooperatives and informal businesses continue to face structural barriers that limit their participation in digital commerce.
Fragmented marketplaces, disconnected logistics networks, multiple technology integrations, limited access to finance and high customer acquisition costs continue to constrain the growth of smaller businesses. Many rural entrepreneurs remain disconnected from wider markets despite increasing digital adoption across the country.
Implementation of ION is being undertaken through close collaboration between government, industry and technology partners.
Working with the Ministry of MSMEs, ION is strengthening the national SAPA UMKM initiative through PASAR SAPA, an interoperable commerce layer that transforms the Ministry’s MSME platform into a comprehensive digital transaction ecosystem. Through this collaboration, registered MSMEs will gain access to buyers, logistics providers, digital payments, financing, insurance and other business services through an open network architecture.
Maman Abdurrahman, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of the Republic of Indonesia, said:
“Our vision is that every Indonesian MSME has an equal opportunity to participate in the digital economy, regardless of size or location. Through SAPA UMKM and the Indonesia Open Network, we are creating an open ecosystem that connects entrepreneurs with markets, logistics, finance, integrated public services, and AI-based services. This collaboration demonstrates how Digital Public Infrastructure can be a powerful engine for inclusive economic growth.”
At the community level, ION Hyperlokal will connect villages, districts, traditional markets, cooperatives, farmers and local service providers into localized digital economies where commerce, logistics and services can be fulfilled within communities while expanding access to national markets.
The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (KomDigi) is supporting the development of the broader digital ecosystem by facilitating participation from Indonesia’s growing innovation community, encouraging applications, developers and digital service providers to become part of an interoperable national digital infrastructure.
Building a Shared Digital Infrastructure
Indonesia Open Network has been established to address Indonesia’s structural digital commerce challenges—not by creating another e-commerce platform, but by building the shared digital infrastructure that enables existing digital platforms, applications and service providers to work together.
ION functions as a national interoperability layer connecting buyer applications, seller applications, logistics providers, payment systems, banks, financial institutions and digital services through open network architecture.
Instead of requiring businesses to integrate separately with multiple digital platforms, ION enables them to connect once and participate across an expanding ecosystem of interoperable applications.
Its guiding principle is simple:
Join Once. Sell Everywhere.
By separating digital infrastructure from commercial applications, ION enables greater innovation, increases competition, lowers technology costs and provides businesses and consumers with greater choice while preserving an open and competitive marketplace.
A Digital Public Infrastructure Designed for Indonesia
Drawing upon the lessons and experience gained through India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Indonesia has developed ION specifically for its own national priorities, economic landscape and development objectives.
Rather than replicating the Indian model, Indonesia has adapted open network architecture to support its own vision for inclusive economic development, digital sovereignty and Artificial Intelligence at population scale.
The initiative transforms Digital Public Infrastructure from a technology platform into economic infrastructure by connecting commerce, logistics, payments, financing and digital services into a single interoperable ecosystem capable of serving millions of businesses across the archipelago.
ION has also been designed to strengthen Indonesia’s long-term digital sovereignty by ensuring that interoperability, rather than exclusivity, becomes the foundation of the country’s digital economy.
T Koshy, Founding MD & CEO of ONDC and Advisory Council Member of Indonesia Open Network and representing the consortium of knowledge partners and technology companies supporting the initiative, said:
“The success of open digital networks lies not in copying one country’s model but in adapting proven principles to local needs. Indonesia has taken the core ideas of interoperability, openness and innovation and developed its own national approach that reflects its economy, institutions and aspirations. We are honored to support Indonesia on this important journey.”
A Whole-of-Ecosystem Collaboration
ION is founded on the principle that national Digital Public Infrastructure succeeds when government, industry and technology partners collaborate around shared infrastructure rather than isolated platforms.
APINDO, representing Indonesia’s private sector, is working closely with ION to encourage business participation and accelerate adoption across industry, ensuring that Indonesian enterprises of every size can benefit from lower transaction costs, broader market access and greater interoperability.
Shinta Kamdani, Chairperson of the Advisory Council of Indonesia Open Network and Chairperson of APINDO, said:
“The private sector has long recognized that interoperability is essential for the next stage of Indonesia’s digital economy. ION creates shared infrastructure that lowers barriers to innovation, reduces costs for businesses and enables companies of every size to participate more effectively in digital commerce. APINDO is proud to support this national initiative and encourage broad participation across Indonesia’s business community.”
To support implementation, SMESCO Indonesia and PT Chairos International Ventures have entered into a Letter of Intent to collaborate on advancing digital participation, market access and economic empowerment for Indonesian MSMEs through ION. The collaboration focuses on accelerating MSME onboarding, digital capability development, financial inclusion, market access, capacity building, pilot implementations, research and ecosystem development, creating a practical pathway for millions of Indonesian businesses to participate in the national open digital commerce ecosystem.
To accelerate implementation, the Indonesia Open Network (ION) also announced the support of Google.org for the incubation phase of Indonesia’s national open digital commerce infrastructure, to accelerate inclusive digital commerce for communities such as micro-enterprises and rural entrepreneurs across Indonesia. The initiative also welcomes Networks for Humanity (NFH) as its Knowledge Partner, contributing global expertise as an international think tank, a network of innovation laboratories and a builder of universal digital infrastructure dedicated to advancing open, interoperable and inclusive digital ecosystems worldwide.
Founding Ecosystem Partners include Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Protean e-Gov Technologies, Pidge, Remiges, Bajaj-Maxride, PlaceOrder, Haqdarshak, Integra Microsystems, Moving Tech Innovations, Infinys, ThoughtLine, Ayantram and Blitz, together with a growing number of Indonesian and international organizations supporting the development of ION.
This collaboration combines international experience with Indonesian leadership, ensuring that ION reflects global best practices while remaining fully aligned with Indonesia’s national priorities and institutional framework.
A New Chapter in the Indonesia–India Strategic Partnership
The launch of Indonesia Open Network represents one of the first large-scale implementations arising from the Digital Development partnership established by Indonesia and India.
It demonstrates how trusted international partnerships can move beyond policy commitments to deliver practical digital infrastructure that directly benefits citizens, businesses and communities.
By combining Indonesia’s vision for inclusive economic development with India’s experience in Digital Public Infrastructure, the two countries are creating a new model for international collaboration based on openness, interoperability, shared innovation and mutual prosperity.
Sachin Gopalan, Chief Executive Officer of PT Chairos International Ventures, the incubation agency leading the development of ION, said:
“ION is not another e-commerce platform. It is the shared digital infrastructure that allows every marketplace, logistics company, payment provider, bank and business application to work together. By separating infrastructure from applications, Indonesia is creating a digital economy where innovation is driven by collaboration rather than fragmentation. Our role at Chairos has been to bring together government, industry, technology partners and international expertise to incubate this vision into a national ecosystem that will ultimately belong to Indonesia.”
Looking Forward
As Indonesia advances toward Indonesia Emas 2045, Digital Public Infrastructure will play an increasingly important role in strengthening national competitiveness and inclusive economic growth.
Indonesia Open Network represents more than a technology initiative. It is the beginning of a new digital economic architecture—one where interoperability replaces fragmentation, collaboration replaces exclusivity, and Digital Public Infrastructure becomes the foundation for inclusive national growth.
Together, Indonesia and India are demonstrating how trusted partnerships can build open Digital Public Infrastructure that expands opportunity, strengthens digital sovereignty and creates shared prosperity for millions of people.
About Indonesia Open Network (ION)
Indonesia Open Network (ION) is Indonesia’s national open Digital Public Infrastructure for digital commerce. Built on open network architecture and designed specifically for Indonesia, ION enables buyer applications, seller applications, logistics providers, payment systems, financial institutions and digital services to interoperate through a shared national infrastructure. By enabling businesses to Join Once. Sell Everywhere., ION expands market access, lowers barriers to digital participation and strengthens inclusive economic growth.
About PT Chairos International Ventures
PT Chairos International Ventures is an Indonesian venture development and strategic innovation company serving as the incubation agency for Indonesia Open Network (ION). Chairos works with government, industry, technology partners and international organizations to develop Digital Public Infrastructure and innovation ecosystems that accelerate Indonesia’s digital transformation.
Media Contact
Indonesia Open Network (ION)
Email: tika@chairos.id
Website: https://ion.id
