Sandiaga: Creative Economy Still Growing Amid The Pandemic

Menparekraf Sandiaga Uno/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said the creative economy sector still has the potential to grow and develop even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sandiaga said the number of creative economy contractions was not as deep as other economies.

Some sectors that have the opportunity to continue to grow in the midst of a pandemic are culinary, fashion, games to homes.

"Minus 2.5 percent and exports minus 13 percent, meaning that there are opportunities for mainstay sectors such as culinary, craft, fashion, and priority sectors such as games and applications to grow and develop and create opportunities for young people," said Sandiaga Uno, quoted by Antara, Friday, October 1st.

In addition, business opportunities in the creative economy are very diverse where more than 20 million jobs are created. This makes the creative economy sector the largest contributor to employment in Indonesia, he said.

Sandiaga emphasized that the potential of the digital economy market in Indonesia is large, where a total of 175 million internet users are dominated by young people.

He said the growth in the value of e-commerce is estimated to reach 53 billion US dollars by 2025. Therefore, it is necessary to consolidate and collaborate with the pentahelix from the government, academia, business actors, the community and the mass media in the creative economy development strategy.

Meanwhile, the Deputy for the Digital Economy and Creative Economy of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Neil Al Himam, said that the digital economy is indeed being excellent.

Indonesia has start-ups that have become unicorns that have a valuation of over 1 billion US dollars, even a decacorn, which is a minimum valuation of 10 billion US dollars. These digital platforms and startups are starting to affect the lifestyle of the Indonesian people today where various needs can be obtained practically.

"Everything is on demand, can be requested via gadgets, everything is now through there," said Neil.

Neil added that the creative economy world provides opportunities for young people who want to find work or open up business fields in this field.

"We need a lot of talent, especially for the digital and creative economy who can develop superior creative products," he said.