Nadiem Makarim, founder of Indonesia's first start-up unicorn Gojek, has resigned as chief executive officer of the ride-hailing giant to take on a Cabinet post in the country's new government headed by President Joko Widodo.

The announcement, which has taken many by surprise, comes a day after Widodo was sworn in for a second term. 

In a statement, a Gojek spokesperson told TechCrunch that Andre Soelistyo, Gojek Group President and Kevin Aluwi, Gojek co-founder, are taking over as co-CEOs of the startup.

“We are very proud that our founder will play such a significant role in moving Indonesia onto the global stage. It is unprecedented for a passionate local founder’s vision to be recognized as a model that can be up-scaled to help the development of an entire country,” the spokesperson stated.

The spokesperson added that Gojek has planned for this possibility and there will be no disruption to our business. 

“We will make an announcement on what this news means for Gojek within the next few days. We respect the process set out by the President and will not make a further comment until there is an official announcement from the Palace,” the spokesperson added.

While it has not been revealed which position would Makarim hold, but an announcement from Widodo is expected later this week. 

Makarim founded Gojek in 2010 as a two-wheeler hailing service from where it has grown to become the largest player in the Indonesian internet industry. The startup has since expanded to include a range of services including mobile payments, food delivery, online shopping and most recently on-demand video streaming with more than 2 million driver partners and 400,000 merchants on its platform. The startup was valued at almost $10 Bn in its most recent financing round and clocked gross transactions worth $9 Bn last year.

Makarim’s appointment is in line with President Joko Widodo's publicly stated views to include professionals and millennials in his second-term team. Widodo has previously stated that he wants young business executives to join his cabinet. While the move is a big transition in Makarim’s career, it remains to be seen how deftly can Gojek handle the succession planning and continue on its growth trajectory without disruption while its leader charts his political path.

Image source: The Straits Times