Jakarta, September 22, 2026 – The Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf) continues to strengthen the culinary subsector through collaboration with local creative economy practitioners during an audience with the management of Fermentasi Nusantara (Fermenusa). The audience discussed mapping potential, ecosystem development, and plans for Fermenusa's involvement in the Creative Session at the international event World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) 2026.
Deputy Minister of Creative Economy/Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf), Irene Umar, receives an audience with the board of Fermentasi Nusantara (Fermenusa) to strengthen the culinary subsector through collaboration with local creative economy practitioners at the Ministry of Creative Economy office, Jakarta, Tuesday (22/09/2026).
“We invite Fermenusa to take part in the Creative Session at the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) 2026. Therefore, it will allow the experience aspect of Fermenusa to be introduced to both national and international creative economy networks. The hope is that Fermenusa can have a call to action that brings the stories, knowledge, innovation, and potential of Indonesian fermented products,” Deputy Minister of Creative Economy, Irene Umar, stated during the audience at the Ministry of Creative Economy Office, Tuesday (9/22).
Irene explained that the Ministry of Creative Economy creates spaces for discussion and long-term collaboration with creative economy champions. This approach aims to unite local knowledge, creativity, and industry needs so that the development of the traditional fermentation-based culinary subsector can proceed in a more targeted manner.
Photo: Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
“Today's discussion aligns how Fermenusa can convey its needs and potential, while from the ministry's side, we can continuously understand which areas fall within the realm of creativity to connect them with industry development. We want to build a long-term collaboration, not merely for a single event, but to establish a sustainable fermentation ecosystem for Nusantara that delivers added value to the creative economy,” Irene added.
Secretary of Fermenusa, Harry Nazarrudin, considers the Ministry of Creative Economy a strategic partner with a broad reach to escalate local fermented products such as tempeh, tape, oncom, and soy sauce into economically valuable and globally competitive commodities.
Photo: Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
“We see collaboration opportunities with the Ministry of Creative Economy because the ministry possesses platforms, creative networks, market access, and even international access. We hope this collaboration can elevate Nusantara fermentation as a rich asset that holds both cultural and economic value,” Harry Nazarrudin said.
During the audience, Fermenusa also presented that Indonesia's fermentation wealth is spread across various regions with distinct microorganism characteristics, raw materials, flavors, and processing techniques. This richness is reflected in tempeh, tape, oncom, soy sauce, and various other fermented food and beverage products.
Photo: Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
Fermenusa views this diversity as something that can be developed into knowledge, culinary experiences, creative products, and an integral part of Indonesia's diplomacy and promotion. The development of fermentation is also believed to be interconnected with various other fields, ranging from research and technology, culinary culture, local wisdom, geographical indications, industry, investment, to global promotion.
Through this audience, the Ministry of Creative Economy and Fermenusa also discussed collaboration opportunities in strengthening knowledge, developing experiences and product showcases, expanding market networks, and honoring traditional Indonesian fermented products as cultural heritage. Fermenusa is also developing the Indonesian Fermentation Forum (IFF) as a space that connects various stakeholders, including academicians, industry, government, media, and communities.
Photo: Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
The audience was also attended by the Special Staff for Strengthening the Creative Economy Ecosystem and Data, Jago Anggara; Expert Staff for Regulation and Institutional Affairs, Dahana Esa Putera; and Director of Culinary, Romi Astuti. Also present were Chairman of Fermenusa, Bambang Britono, alongside representative member of Fermenusa, Nathan Santoso.
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Head of Bureau for Communication
Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency
