Jakarta, IO – The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry (Kemenparekraf) is set to once again hold the Apresiasi Kreasi Indonesia (AKI) awarding ceremony in 2024. This year’s edition (the fourth so far) will feature innovations from the creative economy subsectors, including the gaming industry. There are seven sub-sectors: culinary, crafts, fashion, applications, music, films and games.
About 10,000 creative economy entrepreneurs are expected to participated. They will be shortlisted to 360 participants from 12 regions across Indonesia. The city of Bekasi was chosen as the initial location, followed by Serang, Singkawang, Magelang, Blitar, Denpasar, Palu, Toba, Ternate, Tanjung Pinang, Labuan Bajo, and Merauke.
“Let’s make creation not just a dream but real evidence to help develop the country and of course create wider job opportunities for the community,” said Tourism and Creative Economy Minister/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency head Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno.
The registration is open from February 12 to March 31 to all Indonesian citizens who are at least 17 years old, have a ID card and tax identification number (NPWP), and are living in Indonesia. There are several special criteria that must be met by prospective participants depending on the subsector chosen.
For the culinary, craft, fashion and application/game subsectors, prospective participants are required to have a registered business that has been running for at least six months. Meanwhile, for the music and film subsectors, the latest original work (within the last two years) is required, with special provisions such as the inclusion of video clips for music and affiliation with a production house for films, not an individual.
Young Indonesian creators who meet these criteria can register via the link provided on the Instagram account @apresiasikreasiindonesia. After selecting the appropriate subsector and filling in the registration form, all prospective participants will take part in a curation process carried out on April 1-3 by a team of professionals to determine eligibility to proceed to the next stages of the program.
Selected participants will have the opportunity to attend a Techmet and Meet and Greet session on April 4 along with potential mentors. Furthermore, bootcamp sessions will be held for selected participants in April and May. At the peak of the event in September, they will be given the opportunity to showcase their products and work in an exhibition that is part of the peak event of AKI 2024.
Through the guidance and capacity development by experienced mentors, it is proven that MSMEs and creative economy entrepreneurs are highly competitive. This success has been felt by the participants of the AKI 2022, one of which is Egg Royale. After participating in the AKI exhibition last year, Egg Royale saw higher turnover of between 15 to 20 percent.
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A similar experience was also experienced by Bitata Food, a participant who not only succeeded in becoming the best finalist in AKI 2022 but also recorded an increase in turnover of up to 30 percent after the exhibition. Currently, Bitata Food is even in the development stage to open an offline store in Aceh.
Yudiana, owner of HOMLIV and AKI 2022 alumni, also felt the positive impact of her participation in the AKI program. The event has increased the recognition of the HOMLIV brand he founded, especially in the local market. Now, HOMLIV has spread to more than 400 outlets throughout Indonesia.
Hanna Suryana Hasri, the owner of SALADIN, also appreciate the program and the benefits it has provided. “Hopefully more MSMEs can be involved and benefit from this program going forward,” said Hanna.
For more information about AKI 2024, please visit Instagram @apresiasikreasiindonesia. (des)