Benjamin Joe, the vice president of Facebook Southeast Asia, said that Indonesia, home to 115 million users of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, was a very important market. Here, Facebook adopts the 4C marketing concept: curation, community, conversation and commerce.

“This is our first Facebook Indonesia summit. It aims to connect, support and celebrate the community and businesses in Indonesia, big and small alike, so that they can learn from each other,” he said. “We also aim to bolster people’s spirit to move forward together in the digital era through a variety of programs, initiatives and partnerships that will make communities stronger.”

Titled “Kita Satu, Kita Laju” (We’re one, we’re swift), the Oct. 16 event at Grand Sheraton Hotel, South Jakarta, brought together more than 1,000 people participating as agents, entrepreneurs or ordinary members of the general public.

The one-day event featuring a workshop and talk show was opened by former Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Thomas Lembong.

It also saw the release of a new study on the social and economic impacts of Facebook and its subsidiaries Instagram and WhatsApp in Indonesia. It found that the platforms greatly helped the public to access information from regional administrations.

“Business communities across Indonesia attribute their success stories [to the platforms]. Local governments also use platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to communicate with the general public,” Thomas said.

Many Indonesians use the platforms for business purposes, from selling goods online to offering services, while also staying connected with their communities. Facebook sees this as an opportunity to spread information, help people stay connected and learn from each other.

In its report titled The digital archipelago: How online commerce is driving Indonesia’s economic development, consulting company McKinsey reported that the value of digital business, more commonly known as online commerce, in Indonesia was US$5 billion (Rp 70 trillion) for formal e-tailing (electronic retailing) and more than $3 billion for informal commerce.

This explains the rise of businesses using digital platforms, including Facebook.

The California-based online social media and social networking service company was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and was first made available on desktop computers. It launched its mobile application in 2011 as part of its “Facebook for every phone” initiative, which was a big success in Indonesia.

Joe said he hoped Facebook Indonesia could create a new platform that communities could use to exchange knowledge and information, and help people start businesses.

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