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Case Study

AstraPay in Indonesia: Playing the digital payments platform vs. ecosystem game

By Marleen Dieleman, Aarthi Thyagarajan, Pranesh Mahadeo, Maxence Nobels and Guillaume Clement

15 pages

March 2025

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Reference: IMD-2650

This case study explores AstraPay’s journey to become a significant player, despite its latecomer status, in Indonesia’s burgeoning digital payments landscape. Launched in 2018, AstraPay had grown to serve over one million customers, but it faced intense competition from tech-first digital super-apps like GoTo and OVO. Led by Rina Apriana, who became CEO in 2023, AstraPay had to leverage its unique position within Astra International, a vast conglomerate with deep roots in Indonesia’s economy, to differentiate itself. The case first explores the conceptual differences between a platform and an ecosystem. It then considers how AstraPay can leverage Astra International’s unique characteristics to unlock synergies and evolve into an ecosystem. The question is underpinned by considerations on how AstraPay can best leverage its late mover status to compete with established digital first competitors. Finally, the students are encouraged to explore a range of alternative options available to Astra for building its ecosystem by highlighting the pros and cons of each approach against which to assess the final path taken by AstraPay.

Learning Objective

Unpack digital business models and capabilities.
Understand digital platforms vs. digital ecosystems.
Analyze the potential for a transition from a platform to ecosystem.
Understand how late entrants like AstraPay can leverage strategic flexibility, existing assets, market insights and technological advancements to compete with early movers.
Discuss ecosystem development and its alternatives.

Keywords

Digital, General Management, Strategy, Digital Transformation, Payment System, Platform, Ecosystem, Legacy, Latecomer

Settings

South-Eastern Asia, Indonesia
AstraPay, Finance and Insurance, Financial Services
2018-2024

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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