The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia continues to soar, sending concern and anxiety through the populace, especially those who live in cities where clusters of infections have emerged. As of April 17, the coronavirus has infected 5,516 people and killed 496 in Indonesia. Meanwhile, 548 Indonesian patients have reportedly recovered from the disease.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo has declared a national disaster due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, he has not locked down the country; at the moment, the president has called for Indonesians to maintain social distance from one another and work or study from home.
Facing the potential of lost business, tech companies in the country have adapted their services for users who are, for the foreseeable future, spending most of their time in their residences.
April 6 to 17 update:
Gojek and education tech platform Halodoc provided access to COVID-19 rapid tests via drive-through stations for people with COVID-19 symptoms. The service was conducted in Jakarta from April 10 to 17. Gojek also launched a new grocery delivery service through GoFood called “daily necessities,” enabling consumers to purchase ready-to-eat food and groceries from its store partners. Moreover, Gojek has transformed its shelters into “COVID-19 Prevention Points,” which are now equipped with hand sanitizer and free masks.
GrabHealth powered by Good Doctor also provides free rapid testing and PCR tests for health workers and Grab drivers as they are very vulnerable to the coronavirus due to higher chances of exposure. In the first phase of this rollout, free rapid tests will be given to 1,000 medical workers and Grab driver and delivery partners. Those that test positive for the virus through the rapid tests will then undergo PCR testing for confirmation. The rapid test will be carried out in a drive-through setting, while the PCR test is conducted at hospitals.
Indonesian travel tech Tiket handed over 800 protective equipment kits to nonprofit foundation Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) as the result of Tiket’s Berbagi Sehat campaign, which was held from March 28 to April 5. During this campaign, users converted some of their Tix Points (membership reward points) into donations for Tiket to purchase the equipment kits. Each kit consists of surgical masks, hand sanitizer, multivitamins, latex gloves, and hazmat suits that will be distributed by ACT teams to 38 hospitals throughout Indonesia.
Tokopedia, OVO, and Grab are raising money through their platforms for informal workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Users can make donations digitally; the cash will be spent on staple food packages. Partnering with a number of nonprofit organizations, these packages will be distributed to tens of thousands informal workers in the greater Jakarta area.
Bobobox, a capsule hotel startup, is providing 100 sleep pod facilities for medical personnel in Jakarta and West Java as they are at the frontline in handling the COVID-19 crisis. For this project, Bobobox is partnering with the Hong-Kong based Li Ka Shing Foundation, which donated USD 250,000 to construct the sleeping pods.
HR software provider Catapa launched a free package called “Catapa at Home” that can be accessed by companies of all sizes. The suite includes various services, such as an online attendance feature, a leave and overtime management system, as well as payroll and annual income tax calculators. VisitCatapa’s website to activate these free services.
Singapore-headquartered telehealth startup Doctor Anywhere launched its online COVID-19 Medical Advisory Clinic. Several major insurers, like Cigna Global and AIG, will partner with Doctor Anywhere to offer this service at no charge to their policyholders. In Singapore, users can use the feature for video consultations with a doctor about symptoms and their travel history. If the doctor suspects that a user is infected, Doctor Anywhere will call an ambulance to transport the individual from their home to Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases in the next hour for a COVID-19 swab test. For users in Thailand and Vietnam, the local Doctor Anywhere teams will provide assistance to connect them to healthcare authorities to receive further medical attention.
March 28 to April 3 update:
OVO, Tokopedia, and Grab Indonesia donated IDR 1 billion (USD 60,291) each to provide personal protection equipment for medical personnel who are treating patients suffering from COVID-19. The donation has been distributed to the national board for disaster management through a nonprofit foundation called Benih Baik.
The state-owned digital payment platform LinkAja is collaborating with online fundraising platform Kitabisa to raise money for 55,000 sets of personal protection equipment for health workers, including hazmat suits, N95 masks, medical safety goggles, shoe covers, latex gloves, and surgical gloves. The donation will be distributed to five coronavirus referral hospitals in the country.
Grab’s senior leaders will take salary cuts of up to 20% as part of a series of measures to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 as the pandemic rapidly sweeps across Southeast Asia. The slashes in their pay will be put toward the company’s Partner Relief Initiatives, which provide assistance and support for drivers and merchants across the region. In addition, Grab Indonesia is working with the health ministry and a number of referral hospitals to provide 1,000 GrabCars and 1,000 GrabBikes across the country, specifically for health workers’ commutes. Grab will also provide disinfection stations in some hospitals to sterilize vehicles before and after entering critical areas.
After announcing the launch of a partner support fund, Gojek released 12 drivers welfare programs as part of its utilization. The programs encompass three areas that are likely to affect the millions of drivers using the Gojek platform—healthcare provision, reducing daily costs, and income assistance. The company is providing drivers with hygiene kits and health insurance coverage, distributing baskets of staple foods, vehicle loan payment relief, and income assistance programs for drivers who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or put in mandatory quarantine.
Moreover, Gojek has obtained permission from BNPB (the National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure) and the health ministry to import five million masks. Gojek claimed to be the first on-demand tech company that has obtained an import permit of this type. The masks will be allocated to driver partners and donated to public health workers in COVID-19 referral hospitals.
In the hotel space, Singapore-headquartered RedDoorz launched an initiative called Red Heroes to provide temporary accommodation for frontline healthcare staff and emergency first responders for free during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Red Heroes program is being implemented in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore in partnership with local governments.
India’s Oyo also launched a similar program in Indonesia. The startup has transformed one of its hotels into a temporary residence for medical personnel at no cost. This initiative has also been implemented in India, Malaysia, and the United States. In addition, to ensure the safety and health of employees and guests, Oyo is implementing procedures in accordance with cleaning protocols for COVID-19 at all of their properties.
Digital signature provider PrivyID is opening up its services for free for a month to support business continuity at a time when social distancing is crucial. To access this feature, users can register for an enterprise account at this page. The account can be accessed by up to ten employees, who can use the platform to share and digitally sign internal documents. For external documents, PrivyID provides processing of 100 electronic signatures at no charge.
Healthtech company Indopasifik Teknologi Medika Indonesia (ITMI) launched a digital pharmacy app called Lifepack, aiming to help patients with chronic diseases—such as hypertension, diabetes, and stroke—to obtain medication easily without leaving their homes. For patients who don’t have or lost their prescriptions, they can consult a doctor online through the app. Deliveries are made within four hours after orders are placed. Users can adjust settings in the app based on their prescriptions, and it will remind them to take their medication and when their medicine is about to run out. In addition, users can store their medical records on the app, and in turn use the collated information to monitor their own health.
March 23 to 27 update:
Health tech platform Halodoc teamed up withGojek to launch Check COVID-19, a free online medical consultation service for Indonesians who may be experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Halodoc also partnered with e-commerce platform Blibli to release the “COVID-19 Check” feature on Blibli’s platform.
Indonesia’s smart city startup Qlue is working together with conversational AI platform Kata.ai, chat software provider Qiscus, and information technology company Volantis to launch Indonesia Bergerak, an interactive site that visualizes public reports and information related to COVID-19. All of this is integrated with other data, such as the number of confirmed cases in each area and the availability of referral hospitals that are near a user. Other than submit numbers and status updates, users can also report crowds that have gathered in public spaces.
AI-powered English learning app Elsa offers its premium features called Elsa Pro for free to support students who have to study independently at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Elsa Pro provides more than 1,600 English pronunciation lessons in American English. To access the free feature, users need to sign up on its landing page, fill their personal details, and upload a photo of their student ID.
Gojek’s top executives have stepped up andlaunched a support fund to help drivers, merchants, and other partners whose incomes have been impacted by the outbreak. Gojek’s co-CEOs Andre Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi, as well as the senior management team, will donate 25% of their annual salaries over the next 12 months. Contributions will also be drawn from Gojek’s annual salary increase budget and other parties, mainly corporate partners.
The coronavirus has been spreading swiftly in other Southeast Asian countries as well. Malaysia has the highest number of cases, with2,031 people reportedly infected with the disease as of March 27. Following a two-week lockdown in the country, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) launched the #DigitalvsCovid campaign, marshalling local tech companies to extend digital solutions to affected domestic businesses and consumers. Some of the companies that are taking part in this campaign are telco firm Digi, last-mile delivery service provider Easy Parcel, and logistics company The Lorry. They will provide services on a pro bono basis or at discounted rates to SMEs during this period.
March 16 to 20 update:
As schools in major cities are closed for 14 days from March 16 onward,education tech platforms—such as Ruangguru, Zenius Education, and Quipper—stepped up by providing free live teaching sessions to help students keep up with their syllabi at home. A number of telco operators and internet providers—like XL Axiata, Telkomsel, Indosat, and Biznet—have promised to keep connections up and running while Indonesians stay home, with some companies offering free services to customers so they can spend more time online.
Health tech platforms Alodokter and Halodoc launched coronavirus risk check features in the form of AI-powered chatbots to provide the public with reliable information about the disease. Users can access these features at no charge.
As demand for health products has skyrocketed,e-commerce platforms such as Tokopedia, Bukalapak, and Shopee have stabilized prices on their platforms to prevent scalping, while JakMall and Blibli limit the purchase of some products such as face masks, hand sanitizer, antiseptic, disinfectant, and staple groceries to prevent stockpiling and ensure that all users will have access to these items.
Meanwhile, two of the region’s major tech companies, Gojek and Grab, haveimplemented new measures in Indonesia to prevent community transmission between drivers, merchants, and customers.
Grab has introduced contactless delivery for its GrabFood and GrabExpress services to minimize physical contact between persons. Also, the company provides a GrabCare package that covers both financial and medical support for drivers in case they are placed under quarantine by public health authorities or test positive for the virus.
GoFood is adopting a similar approach in their delivery services by adding quick reply options for users in the platform’s chat system to indicate where to leave their items. Gojek also has an income support scheme for drivers diagnosed with COVID-19. It will temporarily suspend installment payments until the driver returns to work. Both companies provide drivers with face masks and hand sanitizer that can be collected at specific offices in Jakarta.
This story will be updated to reflect recent developments.