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Youth empowerment must not stop at the boardroom
As the country heads toward a demographic bonus, boardrooms at SOEs and private companies should look to including youths as part of the decision-making process to nurture future leaders and create jobs.
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President Joko Widodo (left, at podium) speaks during a meeting with the president directors of state-owned enterprises on Oct. 14, 2021 at Meruorah Komodo Hotel in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. (BPMI Setpres/Laily)
Last week, Youth 20, the forum for young people from the Group of 20 member countries, brought future young leaders together to discuss how to rebuild the youth agenda beyond COVID-19.
For myself, tasked with overseeing and managing Indonesia’s vast network of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the timing of this meeting could not have been more appropriate.
According to the World Bank, 62 countries around the world will experience demographic bonuses, during which the working-age population outnumbers the dependent population. This represents a significant source of potential development if managed appropriately.
Indonesia is one such country where millennials and Gen Z already make up the largest share of the population today, amounting to 145 million people, or around 52 percent of the population.
As an emerging market, Indonesia is on track to becoming an advanced and high-income country through the momentum generated by this demographic dividend. By 2045, Indonesia is projected to be the world’s fourth largest economy and to welcome a demographic bonus of 65 percent.
Coming from a business background, I know the risks of ignoring this perspective when key business decisions are taken. As a Cabinet minister, I know the value of tapping into the enormous potential of this demographic shift. If we fail to do so, our collective targets for economic growth and societal progress will remain unmet.
This is why one of the priority targets for SOEs is to increase the number of millennial leaders in the boardroom from 5 percent in 2021 to 10 percent in 2023. The reason for this is threefold.
