Indonesian digital wallet provider Ovo has appointed former senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, Mirza Adityaswara, as its commissioner president. Adityaswara will supervise the firm’s board of directors, especially in areas related to good corporate governance and long-term sustainability strategies.
Adityaswara is a veteran economist and banker. He led the central bank from 2013 to 2019, and he also held high-ranking leadership roles in several major companies—as head of the Indonesian Deposit Insurance Corporation and chief economist of Bank Mandiri Group.
Adityaswara said he has always had a great interest in the digital economy and wants to strengthen Indonesia’s fintech ecosystem. “By joining Ovo, along with Ovo’s board of directors and employees, I hope we can cooperate to drive the development of Indonesian digital finance in order to expand financial inclusion and support the national financial ecosystem,” he said in an official statement.
Ovo’s move to strengthen its leadership ranks will reinforce its position as one of the leading e-wallet and fintech companies in Indonesia, and also as a strategic national asset and associate of the government, Bank Indonesia, and financial regulator OJK, according to Ovo’s CEO Jason Thompson. “With Ovo’s rapid growth in just 2.5 years, along with the nations massive potential in e-money landscape, more national and foreign investors are interested in investing and developing Ovo,” he said.
Adityaswara is not the first former BI official to become a commissioner of a digital-based company in Indonesia. Previously, Tokopedia enlisted former Bank Indonesia governor, Agus Martowardojo, as commissioner in 2019.