Digital cooperation aims to connect Indonesian creative businesses with international markets.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy is exploring collaboration with the Indonesia Open Network (ION) to expand market access for Indonesian creative products and strengthen their international competitiveness.
Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Creative Economy Irene Umar said technology integration could strengthen business infrastructure while increasing the economic value of creative works.
“Partnering with ION is important for expanding broader, more inclusive digital-market access for Indonesian creators,” Ms. Umar said in a statement on Thursday.
The proposed cooperation will cover market access, digital marketing, cross-border trade, financing, intellectual property protection and artificial intelligence. The ministry also plans to establish a joint working group to explore further areas of collaboration.
The initiative comes as Indonesia’s creative economy continues to make a significant contribution to the national economy. Investment in the sector reached 183.01 trillion rupiah ($11.1 billion) in 2025, according to Statistics Indonesia data processed by the ministry.
Creative exports reached $31.94 billion, while the sector employed 27.4 million people across 21 subsectors. The figures highlight the scale of the sector and the potential importance of improving access to international markets.
ION was developed through collaboration between Indonesia’s Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs as part of the Indonesia-India Digital Cooperation initiative.
The open-network infrastructure is designed to integrate applications and services supporting digital market access, logistics, payments, financing, insurance, skills development and AI-based trade.
Ms. Umar said ION’s ecosystem could support the digitalization of creative businesses while strengthening intellectual property safeguards. She also stressed that digital infrastructure must be accompanied by stronger business capabilities.
“The biggest challenge is building business capacity to adapt effectively, allowing this fair and sustainable collaboration to take effect soon,” Ms. Umar said.
With a joint working group planned, the cooperation could help translate digital infrastructure into wider market access while strengthening Indonesian creative businesses’ capacity to adapt to new technologies and compete globally.
Source: ANTARA News
