Indonesia as the New Silicon Valley – 2014’s Hope

Silicon Valley is a term that most of “worldly” readers here would probably know, but I presume that most of us have not – including me. I did a search to find out why the term “Silicon Valley” came up quite a lot in the process of writing a previous post about entrepreneurship. What I found apparently opened a possibility of another blog entry.

To start with, Silicon Valley is a South Bay Area in San Francisco. It is an area where high-end companies meet and greet, such as Adobe Systems, Apple Inc., eBay, Facebook and Google headquarters. Fascinated yet? Moreover, these IT giants are also accompanied by small start-ups. Now don’t you underestimate these ones because even giants started up small; and these small seeds reduce the possibility of innovation in the country to redundancy. The area also hosts none other than Stanford University, which I’ve heard has a very renowned IT department in the world.

These facts alone are enough to inaugurate Silicon Valley as the metonym for high-tech sector, where the most prominent technology is crafted

South Bay Area in San Francisco

.

The "Biggies"

Two things are prominent in Silicon Valley:

• Big and successful corporate bodies.
• Entrepreneurial start-up businesses.

I believe Silicon Valley would not reach its peak of prominence with the big names only. This is what Japan found out the hard way. If you’ve seen my post on December 29^th (Entrepreneurship: The Key to Our Future?), you have certainly known that Japan is experiencing an economic stagnancy and is pedalling its young entrepreneurs to reclaim its past glory.

Japan is not alone on this, though. Due to globalisation, developing countries are now kick-starting their proverbial entrepreneurial butts. And now, there is a hyped news that the town Kamiyama is Japan’s Silicon Valley. The plot twist is that Kamiyama is actually far from a busy metropolitan environment. Perhaps, this is why investors and IT engineers are flocking the space, searching for a more green and natural surroundings.

On the other hand, what about Indonesia? With a good prospect in entrepreneurship, increasing workforce in IT departments, and investors starting to eye the countries, Indonesia may very well have its own Silicon Valley – better yet, become the next Silicon Valley. We certainly will not close our eyes on broader possibilities.

As long as there are aspiring youths in this country, who is determined to see great visions happen, it is a very likely possibility. However, there is a problem that needs to be addressed: the equal development of regions in Indonesia. I don’t see Silicon Valley exist in the crowded capital. Develop other regions. Perhaps the change in scenery toward a more natural environment will prompt more innovation, as in the cases of Kamiyama and the southern area of San Francisco – both are freed from the hustle-bustle of city folks.

The congested city may not be the most fertile soil.

 Compared to.....

A stroll in the park can do miracles for your brain.