Through digitalization and other featured programs, the government is striving to encourage creative economy business actors to rise up and help revive the economy.
In the creative economy sector, the government has promoted micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through a number of national-level events, including the 2023 Indonesia Creation Appreciation (AKI) exhibition, and helped them showcase their featured products.
The 2023 AKI constitutes one of the ministry's featured national programs aimed at stimulating the recovery of the creative economy sector by providing a forum for selected business actors from various regions of Indonesia to promote their creative businesses, ranging from culinary, fashion, to crafts.
It should be noted that only selected business actors met the eligibility criteria for displaying their products at the 2023 AKI. The selected entrepreneurs had to undergo a number of selection processes, which were held in order to ensure that the exhibition featured only high-quality and competitive products.
This year's AKI marked the 3rd edition of the national exhibition, which was held in 16 cities and districts across Indonesia, namely Jakarta, Bangka, Situbondo, Jayapura, Gorontalo, Karawang, Batam, Purwokerto, Kupang, Samarinda, Palangka Raya, Manado, Kudus, Mojokerto, Bengkulu, and Sukabumi.
The ministry's decision to designate Pangkalpinang City in Bangka Belitung (Babel) Province as one of the hosts of the 2023 AKI was seen as a breath of fresh air by creative economy actors in the province since the decision served as proof that Babel has competitive MSME products.
Moreover, by hosting the exhibition, the province was expected to help its business actors increase their revenue.
In fact, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, the Tourism and Creative Economy Minister, visited the 2023 AKI exhibition at a mall in Pangkalpinang City on June 3, 2023. At the exhibition, local entrepreneurs showcased a wide variety of Babel's typical culinary, creative, and fashion products.
Apart from the province's typical products, a number of booths at the event were also seen exhibiting featured products from Sumatran cities, namely Padang, Palembang, and Jambi.
The exhibition demonstrated that Indonesia is experiencing a positive trend in its creative economy ecosystem, which, in turn, could help the country achieve its target of creating 4.4 million new job vacancies.
So far, the target has reached 45-percent completion, and it is expected to be met totally by the end of 2023.
MSME entrepreneurs were expected to derive inspiration to constantly work hard, work smart, and work thoroughly from the 2023 AKI.
A local batik entrepreneur who participated in the 2023 AKI in Pangkalpinang expressed the hope that the exhibition will promote MSME products from Babel to national and international customers.
The 3Gs Concept
During the Indonesian Creative District/City (KaTa Kreatif) workshop held on the sidelines of the exhibition, Minister Uno introduced a business formula called the 3Gs Concept to entrepreneurs in Pangkalpinang, which is expected to advance and boost the quality of MSME actors in the region.
The minister said that the Gs in the concept stand for Gercep (move fast), Geber (move together), and Gaspol (tap into every online potential). He pushed MSME players to run their businesses by applying all three concepts.
The 3Gs Concept aims to encourage MSME players to create and seize opportunities by consistently innovating, adapting, and collaborating, so that they can contribute to the government's efforts to accelerate national economic recovery.
In other words, it seeks to push MSME actors to move fast in promoting their products, refrain from moving in separate ways, and tap into potentials in the digital space in order to create new job vacancies.
Both the 2023 AKI and KaTa Kreatif workshop are among the ministry's concrete efforts to develop creative economy businesses with the objective of creating new jobs by encouraging collaboration between central and regional governments on developing creative economy products.
Pangkalpinang, the capital of Babel Province, is a city that is making much progress as a creative city in the culinary sector.
Babel's iconic food products such as squid chips and otak-otak (grilled fish cake) can be promoted as assets that deserve to be featured in national and international markets through collective efforts.
Despite its small area and population, Pangkalpinang City's designation as the host of national and international events indicates that the government has included Babel Province in its list of priority regions.
Maulan Aklil, the mayor of Pangkalpinang City, extended his gratitude to Minister Uno for his visit to motivate MSME and creative economy players in the "City of A Thousand Smiles."
The minister's presence at the event is also expected to have an extraordinary impact on creative economy businesses in Pangkalpinang City.
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Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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