Indonesia Sees E-Sports as New Driver of Village Economy

1 day ago 4

January 14, 2026 | 09:44 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Kemendes PDT) believes that e-sports has significant potential to be developed as a new source of economic growth in villages. This sector is considered relevant to the characteristics of the younger generation of villages, who are familiar with digital technology and online games.

Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions Yandri Susanto stated that villages hold numerous economic opportunities that have not yet been fully utilized. According to him, developing e-sports is one way to optimize this potential and encourage youth participation in productive economic activities.

"We will commemorate National Village Day 2026 with various economically valuable activities, one of which is through an e-sports competition," said Yandri after attending the Mendes PDT Cup E-Sports final in Boyolali Regency, Central Java, on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.

Yandri explained that the Mendes PDT Cup E-Sports competition was held as an initial step to identify and identify young talent in villages. He believes that e-sports can provide a channel for the interests and talents of Generation Z, who spend a lot of time playing online games without clear guidance.

According to Yandri, the e-sports industry has a huge economic turnover. He alluded to the significant amount of Indonesian public funds that have been flowing abroad due to online gaming consumption.

"There's around IDR 30 trillion of public money flowing abroad through online gaming. We should be able to manage and develop this economic potential domestically, especially for the benefit of villages," he said.

He hopes that with targeted management, e-sports will not only be entertainment but also open up new business opportunities in villages, from organizing tournaments, coaching athletes, to developing a digital-based creative economy ecosystem.

According to him, this approach can also direct young people's activities towards more positive and productive pursuits.

Going forward, the Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration plans to make the Mendes PDT Cup e-sports competition an annual event. Yandri said the scale of the event will be gradually expanded with a tiered competition system.

"This year's number of participants was not optimal. Going forward, we will start at the provincial level, and then the provincial champions will compete at the national level," he said.

Through this program, the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration hopes that e-sports can become a driving force for the village economy as well as a means of developing digital-based human resources in rural areas.

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