Jakarta, 15 April, 2026 – Minister of Creative Economy/Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf), Teuku Riefky Harsya, received an audience with the Asosiasi Startup for Industri Indonesia (Starfindo) to explore opportunities for strategic collaboration in strengthening the national startup and creative industry ecosystem.
Minister of Creative Economy, Teuku Riefky Harsya, received an audience from the Asosiasi Startup for Industri Indonesia (Starfindo) at the Ministry of Creative Economy Office, Jakarta, on Wednesday (15/4/2026).
The Minister conveyed that every creative economy actor must be encouraged to move up the value chain through curation, commercialization of intellectual property (IP), and expanded access to markets and financing.
“The Ministry of Creative Economy focuses 80 percent of its energy as an accelerator for creative economy actors, including startup associations such as Starfindo that are already empowered and ready to be driven toward independence. This reflects the philosophy of the creative economy as the new engine of growth for the national economy,” said Teuku Riefky during the audience at the Ministry’s office in Jakarta on Wednesday (15/4).
The Ministry of Creative Economy, through the Directorate of Digital Creativity and Technology, continuously engages application subsector players to drive sustainable innovation. Furthermore, Teuku Riefky noted that the application subsector has experienced significant growth despite challenges related to financing, intellectual property protection, and targets for GDP growth and exports.
“We are ready to collaborate with Starfindo through the ASTA EKRAF Program, such as Ekraf Data and Ekraf Bijak. However, it is important to clearly define the challenges, goals, and determine the direction of the relevant directorates or working units. With a collaborative approach, the impact of such partnerships will be far greater for national economic growth,” he explained.
Doc. Bureau for Communication Ministry of Creative Economy/ Creative Economy Agency
Starfindo operates within the ecosystem of the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia, aiming to support startups that require solutions from emerging companies and to accelerate technology deployment. This is supported through the Startup4industry.id program since 2018, which has produced 1,300 alumni who have completed incubation in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and e-commerce.
During the audience, Starfindo proposed seven strategic points for joint formulation, covering 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.
“The essence of the seven points we propose revolves around technological independence. Starfindo consistently considers the aspirations of its members, which open opportunities for cooperation and collaboration through government channels or business-to-government (B2G) pathways. We hope the Ministry of Creative Economy can facilitate and pave the way so that we can have integrated direction alongside the Ministry of Industry,” said Vice Chairman of Starfindo, Hembang Nugraha.
The meeting also discussed various strategic issues, ranging from the need for fiscal incentives, transparency in government procurement, strengthening digital economy data recording, to the utilization of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accelerate startup production and innovation.
“We certainly hope that the startup ecosystem can attract venture capital so that access to financing and bank funding becomes easier. Considering that digital IP is part of intangible assets, technology companies such as startups have strong valuation and creativity, supported by systems that can keep Indonesia’s economic engine running,” Hembang Nugraha added.
Doc. Bureau for Communication Ministry of Creative Economy/ Creative Economy Agency
The Ministry of Creative Economy welcomed the proposals and will further assess them to identify the most feasible collaboration opportunities, which can be implemented gradually through cross-sector synergy.
During the meeting, the Minister of Creative Economy was accompanied by Deputy for Digital Creativity and Technology, Muhammad Neil El Himam; Special Staff to the Minister for Internal Management and Organizational Effectiveness, Muhammad Yanuar Pranuradhi; Director of Applications, Tri Wahyudi; Expert Staff to the Minister for Strategic and Interinstitutional Issues, Gemintang Kejora Mallarangeng; and Expert Staff to the Minister for Media Monitoring and Public Opinion, Hasbil Mustaqim Lubis.
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Head of Bureau for Communication
Ministry of Creative Economy/ Creative Economy Agency
