Kemenekraf Pushes National Ekraf Startup Activists to Advance to the Next Level

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Creative Economy/Bekraf (Kemenekraf) is promoting itself as an accelerator for creative economy (Ekraf) activists, including startup associations, to reach a level of independence. During a meeting with the Indonesian Startup Association for Industry (Starfindo), Creative Economy Minister Teuku Riefky Harsya stated that every Ekraf activist must be encouraged to advance through curation, commercialisation of intellectual property (IP), as well as expansion of market access and financing. “The Ministry of Ekraf focuses 80% of its energy as an accelerator for Ekraf activists, including startup associations like Starfindo, which are already empowered, to be pushed towards independence,” said Minister Riefky in his official statement received in Jakarta on Thursday. According to Minister Riefky, this embodies the philosophy of the creative economy as the new engine of growth or a new machine for national economic growth. In this regard, Kemenekraf is exploring strategic collaboration opportunities with the Indonesian Startup Association for Industry (Starfindo) to strengthen the national startup and creative industry ecosystem. Through the Directorate of Digital Creativity and Technology, the Ministry of Ekraf continuously networks with activists in the application subsector to foster sustainable innovation. Riefky noted that the application subsector has experienced significant growth despite facing challenges in funding, intellectual property protection, and targets for GDP growth and exports. “We are ready to collaborate with Starfindo through the ASTA EKRAF Programme, such as Ekraf Data and Ekraf Bijak. However, we must ensure the challenges, goals, and directions of the directorates or work units are clear,” he said. With a collaborative approach, Minister Riefky continued, the impact of the collaboration will be much greater for national economic growth. The Ministry of Ekraf welcomes various proposals and will further study them to identify the most feasible collaboration opportunities that can be implemented gradually through cross-sector synergies. Starfindo itself is part of the ecosystem of the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia, with the aim of assisting startups that need solutions from emerging companies and accelerating the delivery of technology. In the meeting, Starfindo proposed seven strategic points that can be formulated together, starting from policy and regulation, business and procurement, infrastructure and technology development, access to financing and investment, ecosystem and human resource development, global expansion and national branding, as well as ease of access and strategic collaboration. Deputy General Chairman of Starfindo, Hembang Nugraha, said that Starfindo always pays attention to the aspirations of association members, which certainly opens up potential for cooperation and collaboration through government channels or business to Government (B2G). “We hope that the Ministry of Ekraf can facilitate and open the way so that we can receive integrated guidance together with the Ministry of Industry,” said Hembang Nugraha. The meeting also discussed various strategic issues, from the need for fiscal incentives, government procurement transparency, strengthening digital economy recording, to the utilisation of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate startup production and innovation. Hembang expressed hope that the startup ecosystem can attract venture capital so that it is easier to access financing and funding from banks. “Considering that digital IP is only part of intangible assets, but digital technology companies like startups have valuation and creativity, of course, with a system that can keep Indonesia’s economic wheel turning,” he said.