Creative industries need support to grow: Minister
The country’s emerging creative industries need support from banking and non-banking institutions to flourish, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu says.
“These industries need capital to grow, as well as the protection of their intellectual property rights and promotion,” Mari told a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Such industries had a great chance of success in Indonesia because “the market has high potential”, she said.
However, not many of banking institutions in Indonesia have schemes to loan money for creative industries, because most of the products are intangible, Mari said.
Indonesia’s creative industries are divided into 14 sectors, including architecture, softwares and films.
“Non-banking institutions, such as venture capital, must also take part in the effort,” Mari said.
Indonesia’s human resources also needed to improve to compete with similar industries in other countries, she said.
“We need to develop our skill set; Indonesian people are mostly good in sectors that need creativity and handcrafting skills,” she said, adding that Indonesian sailors, welders and chefs were regarded highly in other countries. (adh)
The government has launched a website aimed at creative industry players and others interested in meeting in the cyber world and gaining information about the industry.
“We need a database to record all creative communities. Physical meetings [between them] already exist, which is good. But cyber meetings are also necessary,” Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said Tuesday at a press conference to launch the site.
“This [website] belongs to all of us. The government is only acting as a facilitator.”
The Trade Ministry leads the government’s creative industry promotions.
The new website contains material related to the creative industry, such as news, activities, definitions, creative development centers, development plans and comparisons with other countries, as well as success stories of creative industry players and publications.
Echoing Mari, the developer of the new website and a renowned blogger, Endah Nasution, said the website now made it easier for people to get information about the creative industry from various sources.
“[The information] used to be scattered all over the place, not in one specific location,” he said.
“But now we can find numerous activities that may be announced by creative industry players [on this website].”
Endah said the website also contained profiles of 14 sectors in the creative industry, including animation, handicrafts, software and cinematography, and displayed schedules of community gatherings.
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