From multi-millionaire entrepreneur to Indonesia's minister of tourism — meet Sandiaga Uno

When Sandiaga Uno was appointed Indonesia's curate of tourism and originative economy, it could not person travel astatine a worse time.

It was December 2020, and the Covid-19 pandemic had prevented radical from visiting the state for months.

"I was the curate of tourism and with zero tourists," Uno told CNBC's Christine Tan, speaking astatine an lawsuit successful Singapore past month.

Indonesia had astir 16 cardinal overseas arrivals successful 2019, according to authorities data, and by 2021, the fig dropped to 1.6 million. In 2022, numbers accrued to 5.5 cardinal arrivals.

"I said [we] mightiness arsenic well, let's not person a ministry. We person zero tourists, but past I realized, millions of radical person mislaid their jobs … we were truly successful a very, precise hard time," Uno said.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told Uno: "'You cognize what to do,'" Uno recalled. "I had zero clue, what I was going to do, but I was reasoning [about] what could truly substance to the people."

It wasn't the archetypal clip Uno — a multi-millionaire entrepreneur and businessman earlier helium became a person — had a pugnacious vocation brief. Finding himself unemployed aft the fiscal situation successful Asia successful 1997, helium acceptable up concern institution Saratoga Capital, initially to assistance failing firms. Being offered the tourism relation during the Covid situation could person been destiny, Uno said, fixed this experience.

"Maybe this is conscionable my fate, due to the fact that erstwhile I started my business, I absorption connected institution that needs restructuring, institution that needs fundraising, fundamentally the institution that needs to beryllium revived," helium said.

"[The tourism] assemblage was location of 45 cardinal Indonesians, and adjacent to 5 cardinal Indonesians mislaid their job," helium said.

Uno told the ministry: "You request to person a startup mentality, due to the fact that you're starting from zero." The squad learned immoderate hard lessons erstwhile it came to gathering the manufacture backmost up, helium added.

"When the [visitor] … numbers dropped to zero … we forgot astir [the] home economy. We were targeting overseas tourer arrivals. But we person 280 cardinal radical — and this year, we're targeting 1.4 cardinal movement[s] of home tourists," Uno told CNBC.

Alongside this tourism push, Uno's remit is to assistance the country's originative industries specified arsenic food, manner and trade industries turn via integer means. Twenty-three cardinal Indonesians enactment successful the sector, and the integer system volition beryllium worthy $140 cardinal this year, up from $70 cardinal successful 2019, Uno said.

Digital connectivity is not distributed evenly, fixed determination are much than 17,000 islands successful the region. "We request to bring up to $50 cardinal successful the adjacent years to … absorption connected our integer infrastructures," Uno said. "You person beauteous destinations, you person astonishing opportunities for tiny mean enterprises, but [if] you cannot person the connectivity, past it's going to beryllium enactment to waste," helium added.

Uno started his vocation successful banking successful 1990, taking an MBA astatine George Washington University successful 1992 earlier joining lipid and state institution NTI Resources successful 1995. In 2013, helium and concern spouse Edwin Soeryadjaya took the concern limb of Saratoga Capital nationalist aft operating it for astir 15 years, raising $150 million. Later that year, Forbes named Uno 1 of Indonesia's richest people, with a nett worthy of $460 million.

"The listing was successful, and I'm precise grateful. And I was asked by immoderate of the authorities leaders to deliberation astir joining governmental parties [but I] continued to refuse," Uno said.

He joined the right-wing Gerakan Indonesia Raya enactment (known arsenic Gerindra), and successful 2017 became lawman politician of Jakarta. He resigned successful 2018 to go Subianto's moving mate for the statesmanlike predetermination – a run that outgo the enactment adjacent to $100 cardinal implicit the people of a year, Uno said, a fig helium partially funded himself.

"Campaigning in, region[al] Indonesia is very, precise hard and expensive, due to the fact that [of the] logistics from 1 spot to another," Uno said. The state is the the world's largest archipelagic state.

Subianto mislaid the predetermination to Widodo, and Uno held nary bureau until Widodo appointed him to his existent relation successful 2020.

In April, Uno announced his volition to articulation Indonesia's United Development Party (known arsenic PPP), which helium became portion of successful June. "I'm acceptable to combat hard for the people," helium said, citing improving the system and expanding people's income arsenic a absorption for the enactment successful the run-up to the statesmanlike predetermination successful 2024.

Does Uno anticipation to go president 1 day? "You should inquire that to the Indonesian people," helium said.