Strengthening Ecosystems and Investment Certainty in Cities - APEKSI

Alwis Rustam, Executive Director of the APEKSI association, has affirmed that city governments have become an important part of the national investment and economic growth engine. In an interview on the Regional Insight segment of Nusantara Economic Update on Nusantara TV on 21 July 2026, Alwis said that the current challenge for regions is not simply to attract as much investment as possible, but to build a city ecosystem capable of providing certainty and trust for investors. According to him, every city has its own “economic DNA” that needs to be mapped and developed according to its strengths.

Alwis stressed that investment certainty is not determined solely by the speed of licensing, incentives, or infrastructure availability. Investors also consider the ecosystem as a whole, from regulatory consistency, energy availability and connectivity, to the quality of education, healthcare, the environment, and liveability for workers and their families. For this reason, urban development must be carried out holistically and no longer in a partial or sectoral manner. “The challenge for all cities now is not about getting as much investment in as possible. The challenge is how a city creates certainty,” said Alwis.

APEKSI is encouraging every city in Indonesia to discover and strengthen its own economic advantages, whether as an industrial city, a services hub, a logistics centre, an education city, a creative economy centre, or a technology and innovation hub. Strengthening institutions, bureaucratic professionalism, consistent regional leadership, and the use of AI and digitalisation are important elements in building governance that supports investment. According to Alwis, Indonesia cannot rely on just one or a few cities to drive national economic growth. “All cities must move up a class,” he asserted.