Bandung — New business opportunities do not always come from creating a new platform. In an increasingly connected digital ecosystem, opportunities can also emerge from the things that are not yet connected: businesses and customers, payment services and merchants, logistics providers and sellers, or technology and other service providers.
That idea was at the center of the “Digital Public Infrastructure: Mini Seminar & Networking” held by Indonesia Open Network (ION) at Garuda Spark Innovation Hub, BLOCK71 Bandung, on Wednesday (Sept. 9, 2026).
Under the theme “What’s Your Next Big Move? Discover New Business Opportunities Through the Power of Open Networks,” the event introduced startups and digital ecosystem players in Bandung to the concepts of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), interoperability and open networks.
What made the session different was that participants were not simply asked to sit through presentations. They were invited to examine their own businesses, identify the problems they face, look for gaps within their ecosystems and consider what connections could open up new opportunities.
The format was designed as a two-way process. Alongside introducing ION to startups, the event also sought to identify use cases, business needs and missing connections that have yet to be reflected in ION’s ecosystem mapping.
When Digital Systems Do Not Connect
Businesses today increasingly depend on multiple platforms, payment systems, logistics services, data and other digital tools. The problem is that these systems do not always connect easily.
Such fragmentation can create barriers for businesses looking to grow, from integration difficulties to limited access to markets and new partners. That makes interoperability an important part of the discussion around Digital Public Infrastructure.
ION presents itself as an open digital commerce network connecting buyers, sellers, logistics providers, developers and other service providers through open participation and common standards. The approach is intended to reduce dependence on individual platforms while expanding market access.
For Dr. Uruqul Nadhif Dzakiy, Assistant Professor at Telkom University, however, simply building connections is not enough.
During the Ecosystem Opportunity Mapping session, Uruqul encouraged participants to look at business ecosystems through the relationships between different actors and the benefits they can gain.
“The problem is that when you enter a platform, there is no mutual benefit. The open network, on the other hand, is based on the principle of mutual benefit.”
Uruqul said an ecosystem can involve different roles, from buyers and vendors to parties that coordinate relationships between actors. The important thing, he said, is not simply to connect them, but to ensure that those relationships create value for everyone involved.
More Than Just “Connectivity”
Uruqul’s discussion then moved to what he sees as the difference between ordinary connectivity and an ecosystem that actually works: transactions and trust.
“It is not just about connectivity. There is also a transaction. Connectivity can already be achieved through technology. But when there is a transaction involved, that is where trust comes in.”
Technology can connect different parties, he said, but those connections do not necessarily create a functioning ecosystem without meaningful collaboration and benefits for each actor.
That is also a challenge he sees in Bandung’s startup ecosystem. The city has a large number of startups and institutions supporting innovation, but the challenge is moving collaboration beyond simple connections toward partnerships that generate transactions and trust.
“The collaboration has to be real, not just a connection, but something that leads to transactions, because transactions create trust.”
Uruqul said an ecosystem can be considered active when its participants understand their respective roles and benefit from being part of it.
“The parameter for an active ecosystem is that the entities within it benefit from one another and understand their respective roles.”
Start With the Problem, Not the Technology
From there, participants were asked to look at their own businesses.
The ION workshop used Ecosystem Opportunity Mapping to help participants map the platforms, partners, customers, services and digital systems they currently use, before identifying which connections already exist and which are still missing.
Uruqul asked participants to start with problems they actually encounter in running their businesses.
“You can identify the pain points, especially if you are already running a business, and understand where the problems are.”
After identifying the pain points, participants were asked to look at the gap between their current situation and what they actually need.
“First, what is the pain point? What is the problem? Then, what is the gap? From there, we can identify what needs to be accommodated by the Open Network.”
According to Uruqul, those inputs are also important because ION is still developing its ecosystem. Understanding what businesses actually need can provide insight into which connections and functions should be developed in the future.
Looking for Opportunities Across Sectors
The discussion was then continued by Haryo Kusuma Wibawa, Head of Operations at ION, who led the Mini Group Discussion. Haryo brought the open network concept into more concrete business opportunities.
He showed how opportunities can emerge across different parts of an ecosystem, including finance, logistics, technology and mobility.
One example discussed by Haryo was how businesses could make use of connections with organizations that already have established user bases and ecosystems.
In his example, telecommunications companies and banks can have large user bases and transaction information which, with the appropriate consent and mechanisms, could potentially create connections with other businesses or products within an open network.
For startups, such connections could mean that access to partners and customers does not always have to be built from scratch.
Haryo also highlighted the possibility of business models with lower administrative costs than conventional marketplaces.
“If you have a marketplace with ION, you can charge a much lower administration fee than what is currently happening. That is what we hope for.”
Six Groups Search for Opportunities
After the presentations, participants were divided into six groups to conduct their own ecosystem mapping. Haryo led the group formation and guided participants into the discussion session.
Each group was asked to select a business or specific case and identify its main needs, existing problems, actors involved, available connections and connections that were still missing.
They then looked at potential opportunities that could emerge if those connections became available through interoperability or an open network. The goal was not to produce a finished technological solution, but to identify needs, opportunities and potential use cases.
The approach brought the discussion closer to the everyday problems faced by startups. Rather than asking, “What technology can we build?”, participants were encouraged to start with a simpler question: What problem are we actually trying to solve?
From there, they could identify which actors were needed, what was missing and whether new connections could create value.
Participants Put Their Business Models to the Test
One participant, Fajar from Bandung, said the framework used in the workshop helped him look at a business idea in a more structured way.
“It can help us develop a business model, understand the challenges and also see what opportunities we can pursue.”
Fajar’s group developed an idea for a service for Indonesia’s workforce, focusing on developing workers for various jobs such as drivers, domestic workers and cooks.
Using the framework introduced by ION, the group revisited its business model, target market and potential opportunities.
“We can look at the business model, understand the target market and identify the opportunities that can come from the business model using the framework taught by ION.”
For ION, the exercise also served another purpose. Startups were not only introduced to the concept of an open network, but were also given a chance to articulate the problems and needs they encounter in their own businesses.
Building an Open Network Around Real Needs
The Bandung event is part of efforts to develop the Bandung ION Lab ecosystem, connecting startups, incubators, businesses, technology communities and local innovation stakeholders with broader market needs.
As a result, the workshop was not intended to end with the six groups completing their discussions. ION also used the session to gain a clearer understanding of the needs, capabilities and potential participation of ecosystem players.
Each group was expected to identify at least one business opportunity, digital infrastructure need or connectivity challenge, while gaining a better understanding of where its business fits within the ION ecosystem.
Ultimately, the message of the workshop was not simply that open networks can make digital systems more connected. Those connections can also provide the foundation for new business models, partnerships and market access that may previously have been difficult to build.
For Bandung startups, the question posed by ION was therefore a practical one: What should your ecosystem be able to do today, but still cannot? The answer could become the next business opportunity.
