Caroline Gondokusumo

Founder and CEO, Dutakom Wibawa Putra Group

Indonesia

Winning women Asia-Pacific Noriko Harada

Caroline is the founder and CEO of PT Dutakom Wibawa Putra Group, a wireless internet service provider (WISP) in Indonesia dedicated to the idea of “connecting the unconnected through quality internet.” Operating through the brand name D~NET, the company helps education systems improve through information technology, and empowers corporates and communities with internet-related solutions. Caroline also owns a wireless data equipment distributorship in Indonesia under the trading name Spectrumindo. 

Caroline started her career as a marketing executive with PT Dyviacom Intrabumi in Indonesia during the early internet years. She is a creative person by nature and has always been on the lookout for opportunities to independently implement her internet service ideas. She hardly had any computer background when beginning her business. But thanks to her passion for technology and desire to learn, she has built the biggest privately owned wireless network in East Java. In 2004, Microsoft appointed Caroline as its marketing development partner for East Java, and in 2016, Facebook started working with her to implement its internet.org project. This has now evolved to become Express Wi-Fi by Facebook. 

The Dutakom Wibawa Putra Group won the Achievers Award from ExpressWiFi by Facebook in 2017. Caroline was featured in Entrepreneurial Winning Women Indonesia Class of 2018. She also serves as the president of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Indonesia East chapter and as the chairwoman for G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance, Indonesia.  

Caroline is working on her dream project of contributing to “Making Indonesia 4.0,” which seeks to connect the remote villages in the country through internet. Under her leadership, the company is also busy improving the Indonesian education system. She aims to provide internet connection to at least 1,000 schools and 3,000 villages in the country by the end of 2023. 

“We aim to be the biggest WISP by connecting the unconnected with quality internet, improving education systems through IT, and empowering corporates and communities through internet-related solutions. All these will be achieved through our core values that include customer focus, excellent execution, value creation, thirst for learning and empowerment.”