Jakarta, 23 December 2025 – Prasasti Center for Policy Studies (Prasasti) assesses that the creative economy sector holds strategic potential to become one of the new engines of national economic growth. This potential is increasingly important as Indonesia seeks to maintain momentum toward its 8 percent economic growth target. With strong cultural characteristics and a broad creativity base, the creative economy is considered capable of strengthening the foundation of national economic transformation in the coming development period.
This perspective was conveyed by Prasasti during the Prasasti Insights forum, held in collaboration with the Ministry of Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia on Tuesday (23/12).
Burhanuddin Abdullah, Member of the Board of Advisors of Prasasti, emphasized that Indonesia’s creative economy possesses structural advantages that are not easily replicated by other countries.
“Indonesia has capital that is difficult to replicate, namely its original cultural wealth and creativity that grows from diversity. While many countries rely on economies of scale and technology alone, Indonesia’s creative economy offers strong value differentiation based on identity, narrative, and local innovation. This potential makes the creative economy sector relevant in opening national economic opportunities to achieve growth targets,” he stated.
Based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the performance of the creative economy shows a relatively strong trend. Creative economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded growth of 5.69 percent, with export values reaching USD 12.89 billion, exceeding the 2025 target. In addition, as of November 2025, the creative economy had absorbed 27.4 million workers. These achievements reflect both the resilience and the potential of Indonesia’s creative economy amid global economic dynamics and challenges.
Minister of Creative Economy/Head of the Creative Economy Agency, Teuku Riefky Harsya, emphasized that the creative economy plays a strategic role as a new engine of national economic growth, which must begin with strengthening regional development. According to him, Indonesia’s creative economy strength is rooted in cultural foundations spread across regions, not only in major cities.
“The new ‘mines’ in Indonesia are the creative economies of each region. The Ministry of Creative Economy continuously maps the leading subsector potential of each region, drawing from the richness of the archipelago’s culture as a source of identity and motivation, an active digital-native youth population, and rapidly developing digital transformation. This is what makes the creative economy a new engine of national economic growth that starts from the regions,” said Teuku Riefky.
He added, “Within the Asta Ekraf framework, we have the Talenta Ekraf program, which provides training activities across all subsectors so that talents can enhance or combine their skills. From there, we also scale up access to markets and financing, including promotional assistance and networking, enabling them to move up to the national and even global level.”
Echoing Teuku Riefky’s view, Prasasti Executive Director Nila Marita stated that strengthening the creative economy requires an inclusive, structured, and solution-oriented policy dialogue space. She added that discussions within Prasasti Insights are positioned as an initial foundation for formulating more directed creative economy policies going forward.
“We express our appreciation for the consistency of the Ministry of Creative Economy in emphasizing that Indonesia’s creative economy must continue to grow and develop from the regions. This message has become a common thread across various policies and programs, while also fostering an understanding that the strength of the national creative economy is rooted in local diversity, regional talent, and creative ecosystems across Indonesia,” said Nila Marita.
Nila Marita also views the Prasasti Insights discussions as a means to enrich perspectives and open more competent collaboration opportunities in line with policy directions from the Ministry of Creative Economy.
“We believe that with consistent policy direction and cross-sectoral support, the potential of the creative economy as a driver of economic growth and a source of national pride on the global stage can increasingly be realized,” she added.
In terms of subsectors, CELIOS Director of Digital Economy Nailul Huda assessed that the development of Indonesia’s creative economy aligns with advances in digital technology and demographic structural changes.
“With growth reaching 5.69 percent, the creative economy’s performance is above national economic growth. Currently, the contribution of the creative economy is dominated by the culinary, fashion, and craft subsectors. This condition serves as an initial foundation to encourage the development of other high value-added subsectors,” he explained.
According to Nailul, subsectors such as film and music hold significant potential, particularly with the strengthening role of digital platforms and over-the-top (OTT) services as channels for distribution and monetization.
“Strengthening these subsectors is important so that the creative economy structure becomes more balanced and competitive,” he said.
In line with this perspective, the Ministry of Creative Economy emphasized that various strategic measures have been and are being implemented to expand the base of creative economy subsectors while increasing their leverage on the national economy. Government efforts to strengthen subsectors in film and music include policy synchronization among the Ministry of Creative Economy, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, and Ministry of Tourism. This coordination is intended to ensure that the creative economy does not operate in isolation, but instead becomes an integral part of a mutually reinforcing national economic ecosystem, particularly in promoting region-based growth. (*)