Indonesia promotes village creative businesses during minister's Wonosobo visit

Local arts and AI training

Riefky, who also leads the Creative Economy Agency, visited Kadipaten in Selomerto Subdistrict to assess its creative economy potential and development. According to ANTARA, he backed efforts to make creative villages a source of economic growth, combining local culture with digital technology to open business opportunities.

The visit brought together discussions about community-led creative village development, artificial intelligence (AI) training for local businesses, and a dialogue with residents about opportunities and obstacles. Riefky said innovation and technology could help villages derive economic value from their cultural and historical resources.

A performance paired dancers with musicians playing the bundengan. The woven-bamboo instrument began as a body protector for duck herders that also served as a plucked string instrument. Indonesia's Ministry of Education, Culture and Research designated it as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020, according to the Central Java Provincial Tourism Office.

Wonosobo seeks expansion beyond Kadipaten

Wonosobo District Head Afif Nurhidayat said the district administration and Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) continued to support local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), along with arts and culture. He said skills in digital technology, social media and AI were increasingly important for creative businesses seeking to adapt and reach more customers.

Nurhidayat wanted other villages to adopt the creative village initiative. The administration hoped that mentoring, training and capacity building for business operators would help transform local artistic and cultural resources into competitive creative industry products.

A national program with staged development

Creative Village Activation is one of three flagship programs the Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency said it would accelerate in the second half of 2026. The others are Creative Hub Activation and Creative by Indonesia. The ministry announced the push following President Prabowo Subianto's directive at the July 20, 2026, Plenary Cabinet Meeting in Jakarta.

In its August description of the Creative Village Development Program, the ministry outlined four stages: pioneering, productive, empowered and independent. A village's classification depends on its potential across the 21 creative economy subsectors.

The National Association of Village Consultative Bodies (ABPEDNAS) said in August that it would work with the ministry to identify and curate villages with creative economy potential. The association said its Village Consultative Body (BPD) network covered 25,191 villages across 398 regencies and municipalities in 37 provinces.

The minister said in July that Creative Village Activation forms part of the 2026-2045 Creative Economy Master Plan, known as Rindekraf. Work on that plan began in March 2025 and involved coordination with 35 ministries and agencies. Its inclusivity principle targets youth, women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, and communities in disadvantaged, frontier, outermost and border (3TP) areas.

Investment, exports and a recent industry gathering

The ministry's July account of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data put creative economy exports at 11.8 percent of Indonesia's total non-oil and gas exports as of March 2026. Realized investment in the sector had reached IDR 61.33 trillion.

Jakarta also hosted the fifth World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) in October 2026. According to the ministry, the main conference took place October 21-23, while its companion creative economy exhibition, Creativillage, ran October 21-25.