Deputy PDDT Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, Chief of Presidential Staff General (Ret.) Dr. H. Moeldoko, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo launches the Smart Village Nusantara pilot development project at Kemuning Village in Karanganyar District, Central Java, Thursday (1/10). Telkom President Commissioner Rhenald Kasali, Telkom Independent Commissioner Marsudi Wahyu Kisworo, and Telkom Director for Enterprise & Business Service Edi Witjara also attended the launch. Smart Village Nusantara is a manifestation of Telkom’s support for the government in developing Indonesia based on the potentials that villages have by developing an ecosystem for a digital village so that the village can have a sustainable economic development. 

Karanganyar, 1 October 2020 –  The development of smart villages in Indonesia could boost economic activity and productivity in rural areas. Based on that potential, PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (Telkom) in cooperation with Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions Development (PDDT Ministry) and Transmigration developed the smart village concept known as the Smart Village Nusantara, which optimizes ICT solution and network infrastructure. Kemuning Village in Central Java and Pangandaran Village in West Java were the pilot projects for Smart Village Nusantara concept development. 

Deputy PDDT Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, Chief of Presidential Staff General (Ret.) Dr. H. Moeldoko, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and Telkom Director for Enterprise & Business Service Edi Witjara inaugurated the pilot village for the Smart Village Nusantara development in Kemuning Village (1/10). Telkom President Commissioner Rhenald Kasali and Telkom Independent Commissioner Marsudi Wahyu Kisworo were also in attendance. Officials from Pangandaran Village attended via online the Smart Village Nusantara launch. This event is part of a series of digital village piloting agenda, Smart Village Nusantara as part of Telkom's Smart City Nusantara.

Telkom Director for Enterprise & Business, Edi Witjara, said in his remarks that Smart Village Nusantara is a manifestation of Telkom's support to the government in developing Indonesia based on the potentials that villages have. "Through Smart Village Nusantara, Telkom is present to support the development of a digital village ecosystem for a sustainable village economy. In the future, villagers could have higher digital adoption and would be more familiar in using digital technology to support their activities," Edi said.

Deputy PDTT Minister Budi Arie Setiadi said he appreciated Telkom for initiating village development through the Smart Village Nusantara program. “The village is the future of Indonesia. Indonesia has three main sectors that are competitive with other countries; agriculture, fishery and tourism. Villages that have these three advantages should benefit the most from them by building and developing them together. We hope that Kemuning Village will become an example for other villages in Indonesia," Budi Arie Setiadi said.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo also said that he hoped Telkom’s support could encourage the villagers’ entrepreneurship through competition and collaboration so that villages can constantly develop better. 

Chief of Presidential Staff, General (Ret.) Dr. H. Moeldoko also appreciated the Smart Village Nusantara initiation. Moeldoko said, "The government places digital villages as a national priority program. Externally, this Smart Village Nusantara will open a window to the world for the villages and introduce them to the world. Internally, the village digitalization will improve government administration and the village economy."

The Smart Village Nusantara pilot project is focused on three main aspects, namely government, economy and social, with targets to implement them in several villages that have different characteristics and potentials. There will be various applications that support village digitization in accordance to the villages’ needs and characteristics, and their optimized use would be encouraged for sustainable development. Community assistance process is also part of the digital village piloting agenda, so that villagers would be able to and get used to using digital technology in their daily lives.

The development of Kemuning Village as a pilot village for Smart Village Nusantara in Central Java can be a boon for the village to become a more ICT-friendly village that uses ICT for the village and community development. Infrastructure support and access networks as well as the introduction of various solutions and applications are expected to maximize the development and application of digital villages, especially in the government, economy and social sectors. Village Service Management Information System Application (Simpeldesa), User Central Management (UCM), Village Dashboard, Electronic Monitoring and Evaluation (E-Monev), e-Puskesmas, e-Posyandu, Digital Library (PaDi), Village Cinema, Digital Cashier (iKas and Bonum), e-Loket/Electronic Point of Sales (E-POS) and Cashless Payment via QRen and LinkAja! will be implemented in order to make Kemuning Village as a developed village and to improve the welfare of its citizens.

"Through Telkom's Smart Village Nusantara, the entire digital-based system is developed and implemented to digitize villages, in order to support national development priorities in the industrial revolution 4.0 era as well as to encourage the national development sustainability and developing Indonesia to be more advanced to become a smart nation," Edi said.