The CEO and co-founder of Indonesia’s ride hailing unicorn Go-Jek has stepped down in a surprise move.
Nadiem Makarim is entering the political arena as a new member of President Joko Widodo’s cabinet.
It comes a day after the President was officially sworn in for a second term.
President Jokowi had previously said he wanted younger business executives to take a larger role in helping govern the country and reach out to Millenials.
Go-Jek said group president Andre Soelistyo and the other co-founder Kevin Aluwi will take over as co-CEOs.
Makarim’s role in the cabinet is still under warps but he said it was a ‘big honour to be able to join the cabinet.’
Go-Jek has evolved from a motorcycle ride hailing service to a so-called ‘super-app’ now valued at about US$10 billion.
Apart from the core ride hailing business it offers food delivery, home services, e-commerce and its own digital payment platform.
