Nadiem Makarim
Founder of Gojek and former Indonesian education minister
- Age
- 42 yrs
- Birthday in 241 days
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Nadiem Makarim is an Indonesian businessman and politician who founded Gojek, a motorcycle ride-hailing app that became Indonesia’s first decacorn and merged with Tokopedia to form GoTo. He served as minister of education from 2019 to 2024. In 2026 he was convicted of corruption over a Chromebook purchase, which he denies and is appealing.
Biography
Background
Makarim grew up in Jakarta and studied international relations at Brown University and business at Harvard. He worked at McKinsey and Zalora.
Gojek
In 2010 he founded Gojek as a call centre for ojek motorcycle taxis. The 2015 app added food, payments and many services and became a super-app.
Minister
President Joko Widodo appointed him education and culture minister in 2019, later adding research and technology. He pushed the “Merdeka Belajar” (freedom to learn) reforms.
Corruption case
In 2025 he was arrested over the ministry’s procurement of Chromebook laptops. In 2026 a court convicted him and sentenced him to ten years; he denied wrongdoing and said he would appeal.
Timeline
-
1984
Born in Singapore
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2010
Founds Gojek
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2015
Gojek app launched
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2019
Becomes education minister
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2021
GoTo formed
-
2024
Leaves office
-
2025
Arrested
-
2026
Convicted; appeals
Did you know?
-
1
Gojek began with 20 motorcycle drivers.
-
2
He was born in Singapore to Indonesian parents.
-
3
He was one of Indonesia’s youngest ministers.
Connections
Also born on 4 July
-
Steven Sasson
Technology · Kodak engineer who built the first digital camera
1950
-
Richard Garriott
Technology · Creator of the Ultima games and private astronaut
1961
- Donna Dubinsky Technology · CEO of Palm who made the PalmPilot a success 1955
-
Brendan Eich
Technology · Creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla and Brave
1961
Frequently asked
Who is Nadiem Makarim?
Nadiem Makarim is an Indonesian businessman and politician who founded Gojek, a motorcycle ride-hailing app that became Indonesia’s first decacorn and merged with Tokopedia to form GoTo. He served as minister of education from 2019 to 2024. In 2026 he was convicted of corruption over a Chromebook purchase, which he denies and is appealing.
How old is Nadiem Makarim?
Nadiem Makarim is 42 years old, born on 4 July 1984 in Singapore.
Where is Nadiem Makarim from?
Nadiem Makarim was born in Singapore.
What is Nadiem Makarim known for?
Nadiem Makarim is best known for Founding Gojek (2010); Indonesia’s minister of education 2019–2024; Chromebook corruption case.
References
- Nadiem Makarim — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Nadiem Makarim (Q25464675) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Nadiem Makarim”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Nadiem Makarim.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/nadiem-makarim
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