Get All Access for $5/mo

Gojek Founder and Ex-CEO Appointed Indonesia's Minister of Education and Culture Makarim had announced his resignation to the press on Monday

By Aparajita Saxena

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Gojek website

Ridehailing giant Gojek's founder and former Chief Executive Officer, Nadiem Makarim, who resigned from his position with the unicorn on Monday, is set to take over as Indonesia's education and culture minister, the company said in a press release.

Gojek's President, Andre Soelistyo, and cofounder, Kevin Aluwi, will take over Makarim's role as co-CEOs of the company.

"We started this company with nothing, other than a deep desire to change things for the better. We saw that the streets of Jakarta were a mess and that there was an informal community of ojek drivers who could easily act as a huge part of the solution to that mess, if only they were organised and working efficiently," Makarim said in his departure email to Gojek's staff.

"With just that initial desire to improve life for everyone, as well as a large amount of support from countless friends, partners and stakeholders, we've created Gojek," he added.

Makarim will not retain any executive or advisory role in the company, Gojek said. The company so far has raised a total of $3.1 billion in over 12 rounds of funding from investors including Visa, MUFJ, Google, and Tencent Holdings. Their latest fundraising round, series F, was in July 2019.

Soelistyo will take over Gojek's corporate functions, international expansion, and the financial services businesses, among others, while Aluwi will focus on product development, marketing, organisational development, and the compaby's transportation and food delivery businesses, the company said.

Aparajita Saxena

Former Deputy Associate Editor, Asia Pacific

Aparajita is Former Deputy Associate Editor for Entrepreneur Asia Pacific. She joined Entrepreneur after nearly five years with Reuters, where she chased the Asian and U.S. finance markets.

At Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, she wrote about trends in the Asia Pacific startup ecosystem. She also loves to look for problems startups face in their day-to-day and tries to present ways to deal with those issues via her stories, with inputs from other startups that may have once been in that boat.

Outside of work, she likes spending her time reading books (fiction/non-fiction/back of a shampoo bottle), chasing her two dogs around the house, exploring new wines, solo-travelling, laughing at memes, and losing online multiplayer battle royale games.

 

Business News

These Companies Offer the Best Work-Life Balance, According to Employees

The ranking is based on Glassdoor ratings and reviews.

Growing a Business

5 Effective Strategies to Boost Your Business's Online Presence

Boosting your online presence in 2025 is the key to success for businesses looking to grow. Working on your branding and reputation management is important to drive more sales and improve conversion.

Business News

Here's What the CPI Report Means for Your Wallet, According to JPMorgan and EY Experts

Most experts agree that there will be another rate cut next week.

Science & Technology

Use This Framework to Successfully Integrate AI Into Your Business Operations

Here's how to ensure both innovation and compliance when using AI in your organization.

Starting a Business

Nearly 50% of America's Workforce Has a Secondary Source of Income or Side Hustle. Here Are 7 Steps You Should Take to Create Lasting Value for Yours.

Today's entrepreneurs have the opportunity to generate long-lasting supplementary income if they take these steps.