Google Backs Open-Network E-Commerce with $1.5 Million Grant to Unlock Rural Indonesia

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Google, through its philanthropic arm Google.org, is disbursing a grant of $1.5 million (approximately Rp 26.9 billion) to the Indonesia Open Network (ION). The funds will be used to strengthen digital public infrastructure that allows micro-enterprises and rural entrepreneurs to enter online markets more easily, openly, and without being burdened by high initial costs.

Country Director of Google Indonesia Veronica Utami said on Thursday (23/07/2026) that in its first phase, ION is targeted to empower up to 100,000 micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs in rural areas. They are expected to immediately offer products online without having to build their own technology infrastructure or incur burdensome initial investments.

“In its first year, ION will empower up to 100 thousand micro-enterprises and rural entrepreneurs to start selling online instantly, even without burdensome initial costs,” Veronica said during the Google AI & YouTube for Creative Economy event in Jakarta on Thursday, July 23, 2026.

With an exchange rate of around Rp 17,909 per U.S. dollar, the $1.5 million grant is equivalent to around Rp 26.9 billion. Funding from Google.org will be accompanied by technical support and Google Cloud infrastructure to help ensure the ION system can operate effectively, securely, openly, and be utilized by an increasing number of business actors.

ION was developed jointly with the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, as well as a number of other partners. The network was designed as an open digital infrastructure connecting sellers, buyers, logistics providers, payments, and various digital applications without requiring all parties to be on the same platform.

ION operates on an open-protocol model directly inspired by India's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

Unlike traditional e-commerce marketplaces like Tokopedia or Shopee—which lock buyers and sellers inside a single "walled garden" application—ION unbundles the digital transaction. Under this decentralized architecture, a merchant only needs to register their business identity and upload their product catalog once to the open network.

Once listed, those products automatically become discoverable across any connected buyer application, payment processor, or logistics provider on the network. This eliminates the operational headache of maintaining separate storefronts, stock counts, and sales tools across multiple platforms, allowing micro-enterprises to expand their reach without taking on high digital overhead or relying on a single dominant platform.

ION was officially launched on February 5, 2026, during the 12th Annual Indonesia Economic Forum in South Jakarta. The open network was developed to expand market access for MSMEs while reducing business actors' dependence on closed digital platform systems.

Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Nezar Patria explained during the launch of ION that MSME actors have faced a number of obstacles when entering the digital economy. These obstacles include relatively high transaction commissions, limited access to data, and dependence on a single platform.

According to Nezar, ION provides broader options because sellers, buyers, and supporting service providers can find one another and transact through different applications. The system is open and decentralized so that it does not lock business actors into a specific commercial ecosystem.

The presence of ION becomes important especially for business actors outside major cities. Although internet penetration and smartphone usage continue to expand, not all micro-enterprises possess the technical capability, capital, or human resources to manage sales across multiple digital platforms.

Veronica said Google's support for ION is aimed at expanding access to technology for small businesses in the regions, helping them grow their businesses, and opening up broader markets. Google will also provide technical support so that the implementation of ION can create an open, inclusive, and secure digital ecosystem.

Through the network, the digitalization of MSMEs is no longer defined merely as business actors entering a marketplace. Digitalization is directed toward a system that allows merchants to retain choices, control over their businesses, and opportunities to reach consumers from various applications.

ION can also serve as an entry point for the integration of various business support services, ranging from digital payments, financing, transaction recording, logistics, inventory management, to the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) to increase productivity.

Support for ION was announced when the rate of AI utilization among Indonesian MSMEs remains relatively low. Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google's Centers of Excellence, Markham Erickson, stated that only about 14.5% of Indonesian MSMEs have utilized AI technology.

“So, a massive opportunity lies ahead of us,” Markham said during the same event in Jakarta on Thursday, July 23, 2026.

According to Markham, broader implementation of AI in the MSME sector has the potential to provide an additional economic value of up to Rp 910 trillion ($57 billion). That value is almost equivalent to 4% of Indonesia's gross domestic product. The development and use of AI are also estimated to create more than 510,000 new jobs.

AI, according to him, cannot only help business actors increase the efficiency of existing work. The technology also has the potential to spawn new products, services, industries, and types of jobs.

For MSMEs, AI can be used to draft promotional materials, write product descriptions, translate information into various languages, analyze consumer behavior, forecast demand, manage inventory, and speed up customer service. However, those benefits can only be felt broadly if business actors have access to an open and easy-to-use digital infrastructure.

In that context, ION functions not merely as a sales channel. The network can serve as a foundation that enables micro-enterprises to gain benefits from digital technology and AI without having to build their own systems from scratch.

Google also sees the immense potential of Indonesia's digital creative economy. Veronica revealed that people and creators in Indonesia generate nearly nine million AI-based images every day. That figure is said to be the highest in Southeast Asia.

The high usage of generative AI demonstrates that Indonesia is not merely becoming a technology consumer, but is beginning to utilize it to produce creative works and products. However, the next challenge is turning that digital creativity into a sustainable economic activity.

Based on the YouTube Impact Report, the YouTube creator ecosystem contributed more than Rp 8.4 trillion ($528 million) to Indonesia's GDP in 2023 and supported over 190,000 jobs. Around 81% of Indonesian creators also earn income from overseas viewers, which shows that local content possesses the ability to penetrate international markets.

Markham emphasized that AI development is not only done for creators, but also together with creators. Google wants to provide new tools to make videos, increase protection for works, and open new commercial collaboration opportunities.

According to him, the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of YouTube creators have made a major contribution to the development of the Indonesian economy. Because of that, technology development needs to keep humans and creative actors as a core part of the innovation process.

Deputy Minister of Creative Economy / Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency Irene Umar said Indonesia must not only be viewed as a market with a large population. Indonesia must also become a center for the creation of works, creative products, and intellectual property capable of being marketed to the world.

“Indonesia is not just a market with a large population, but also a home for creators and a creative engine capable of exporting works to the world. The world needs products that come from Indonesia because products created with heart can touch many people,” Irene said during the event.

Irene encouraged Indonesian creators not to use digital platforms merely to chase subscriber or view counts. Creators must begin developing digital works into intellectual property-based businesses.

Characters, stories, designs, videos, and works that originally lived only in the digital space can be developed through licensing, merchandise products, brand partnerships, games, animation, shows, to collaborations with various industry sectors.

According to Irene, AI can increase creator productivity so that they are capable of building larger-scale businesses without having to add human resources in the same proportion. Technology also enables a single work to be developed into several products and revenue streams.

The combination of creativity, entrepreneurship, AI, and open digital infrastructure like ION has the potential to create a new pathway for business growth. Micro-enterprises not only obtain a place to sell, but can also connect with markets, payments, financing, logistics, and technology that helps them increase productivity.

For the government, developing ION can help accelerate the digitalization of MSMEs in a more inclusive manner. An open network approach also has the potential to prevent digitalization from concentrating solely on business actors who already possess capital, technological capabilities, and access to large platforms.

Nevertheless, the success of ION will depend on the operators' ability to build an adequate user volume on both sides of the network. The more buyer applications, sellers, payment providers, and logistics companies connected, the greater the economic benefits micro-enterprises can receive.

Data protection, transaction security, dispute resolution mechanisms, catalog standardization, payment reliability, and logistics quality must also become crucial parts of its development. Open infrastructure must still be accompanied by strong governance so that seller and buyer trust can be maintained.

The $1.5 million grant from Google.org serves as initial capital to strengthen that development. Targeting to reach 100,000 micro-enterprises and rural entrepreneurs in its first year, ION is expected to become a bridge connecting business groups that have not yet fully enjoyed the economic benefits of the digital era.

Through ION, micro-business actors no longer need to visit multiple platforms to seek out markets. Instead, a single entry into the open network can make their products discoverable by buyers across various applications. The grant from Google.org represents an initial step toward transforming digital connectivity into real market access and business opportunities.