Creative Economy Minister says young generation drives digital creative ecosystem
Jakarta (ANTARA) — Minister of Creative Economy and Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) Teuku Riefky Harsya said changes in the behaviour of the younger generation, particularly in how they consume information, are driving an increasingly strong digital creative economy ecosystem, especially digital media.
“The creative economy is a sector very close to the younger generation, which is why collaboration with digital platforms and creative media is important to strengthen this ecosystem,” he said in a statement received in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Riefky said that according to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), of the 27.4 million creative economy workers, around 63 percent come from Gen Z and millennials, and 58 percent of them are women.
According to him, the flexible and innovation-driven characteristics of the creative industries make the sector increasingly relevant to the preferences of young people who want to work according to their interests, creativity and expertise.
This condition has also driven the sector’s ability to absorb around 1 million to 1.5 million new workers each year.
In terms of economic performance, the creative economy sector has also shown a positive trend. In 2025, investment realisation in the sector reached 134 percent of the government’s target, contributing around 9.5 percent of total national investment.
Meanwhile, creative economy export value exceeded 120 percent of its target, contributing around 12 percent of total national exports.
Nevertheless, the government believes the potential of the digital creative economy can still be further increased. One avenue is optimising digital-based creative services exports, which have not yet been fully recorded, such as music, animation, design, architecture, game development and various technology-based creative services.
“Confidence in the creative economy sector continues to grow. However, there is still significant untapped potential, especially in digital creative services exports,” said Teuku Riefky.
To strengthen the ecosystem, the Ministry of Creative Economy is exploring collaboration with the multiplatform digital media outlet Kumparan. The partnership is directed at strengthening creative economy literacy, promoting local works, developing young talent and expanding market access through the use of various digital platforms.
Kumparan’s Editor-in-Chief Ahmad Toriq said the transformation of content distribution across digital platforms has become an important part of reaching an audience dominated by the younger generation.
As of June 2026, Kumparan’s cumulative content distribution across various digital channels generated around 900 million monthly views with an engagement rate of 0.24 percent.
“These changes are a challenge for us as well as an opportunity for the media industry. Although text content still holds important value, distribution through video, live streaming and digital platforms has become an inseparable part of today’s media strategy,” said Ahmad Toriq.
The collaboration between the government and digital media players is expected to strengthen the competitiveness of the national creative economy while positioning the younger generation as the main driver of innovation- and technology-based economic growth.