Jakarta, September 17, 2026 – The Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf) is strengthening a technology- and design-based innovation ecosystem to accelerate the downstreaming of value-added creative products. This commitment was emphasized by Deputy Minister of Creative Economy (Deputy Minister of Ekraf) Irene Umar during an audience with The Innovators Studio (TIS).
Deputy Minister of Creative Economy/Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf), Irene Umar, receives an audience with The Innovators Studio (TIS) at the Ministry of Creative Economy office, Jakarta, Thursday (17/9/2026).
“The Ministry of Creative Economy does not want to see ideas remain merely as ideas, as they require collaboration across various parties. We need to see how ideas can be assessed in terms of their added value and potential economic impact, developed into prototypes, and then connected with the right parties so that they can move into the implementation stage and generate impact,” said the Deputy Minister of Creative Economy at Autograph Tower, Jakarta, Thursday (17/9).
The Deputy Minister of Creative Economy said that the government will take a more active role in identifying and connecting creative economy practitioners with innovative ideas to supporting ecosystems. The government’s role is not limited to serving as a regulator, but also as a connector that bridges creators with owners of strategic resources.
“The 21 subsectors under the Ministry of Creative Economy have practitioners who need to keep striving. Designers and architects, for example, should not only be seen from the perspective of their values, but must also have something futuristic. Our task is certainly to identify talents with potential and see what we can collaborate on to provide support, serve as a connector, or act as a translator of innovative creative ideas,” the Deputy Minister added.
During the audience, TIS presented its vision, approach, and portfolio in transforming ideas into Intellectual Property (IP) and commercial products through an interdisciplinary approach combining design, technology, and storytelling. TIS’s featured portfolios include research on the urban planning of Neo Sabang and the development of an NFC chip-based social bracelet.
“We see that Indonesians actually have many interesting ideas. The challenge is that when these ideas enter the prototyping stage, they still face obstacles in terms of components, equipment, and access to technology. As a result, the ideas ultimately remain at the ideation stage,” said Mochamad Fadhil Dewana, Creative and Product Designer at TIS.
Photo: Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
TIS seeks to address the concerns arising from the many local creators who have yet to receive adequate support to develop their ideas into solutions. TIS is committed to becoming a platform for developing local ideas so that they can compete in broader markets.
“We describe The Innovators Studio as a product design studio and innovation that actually has a wide range of service production house capabilities. We also have a mascot named Mr. Q, which stands for Question. The question mark-shaped figure symbolizes questions that need to be solved, while also helping with branding and making TIS easy for the public to remember,” said Miftahul Huda, Creative Designer at TIS.
The Ministry of Creative Economy and TIS are exploring opportunities for strategic collaboration to expand the network of innovators, facilitate access to industry, and encourage the downstreaming of creative products. The discussion also covered potential synergies with industry associations, maker communities, marketers, investors, and local governments.
This cross-disciplinary synergy is expected to accelerate the transformation of ideas into products with high economic value. This strategic step also forms part of efforts to strengthen the ecosystem ahead of the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE), which will take place on October 21–23, 2026.
Also accompanying the Deputy Minister of Creative Economy at the audience was Head of the Subdirectorate for Technology Creativity Commercialization at the Ministry of Creative Economy, Hario Bismo Kuntarto.
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Head of Bureau for Communication
Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
