Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama officially opened Jakartas first subsidized co-working space on Wednesday.
The space is called The Jakarta Creative Hub and located at Grha Niaga Thamrin, Waduk Melati, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.
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It has twelve rooms that can be used for meetings, trainings, and events by entrepreneurs, communities and the general public. It also has sewing machines, wood cutting machines, office supplies and even 3D printer visitors can use to develop their business ideas.
Akhirnya, #JakartaCreativeHub dibuka hari ini.
iwetramadhan (@iwetramadhan) March 1, 2017
Siap-siap, Jakarta akan punya makin banyak pelaku industri kreatif dan entrepreneurs baru! pic.twitter.com/vqF49QdyRC
I dont know whether to be happy or sad, but there are already numerous creative spaces, and half of them are struggling in running their business, she wrote. Suddenly the Jakarta government built its own creative hub, why dont they just support the existing ones that already have the experience?
Adryan Hafizh, the Head of Business and Program Development in Indonesian Co-Working Association, shares the same concern.
While he said that the organization welcomes the governments initiative that acknowledge co-working space and creative hubs as important elements in building the entrepreneurship and creative economy ecosystem, he hoped that the government would still pay attention to existing players.
Co-working Indonesia hopes that the initiative does not stop with providing the physical infrastructures, but also extend to policies that support the sustainability of existing independent creative communities and spaces, he said.
Dina and Adryan are not alone.
Erwin Soerjadi, the head of The Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Associations (Hipmi) creative economy division, said that the uneasiness is felt by many co-working space owners in Jakarta.
Weve heard many negative responds. They're questioning why the government decided to provide a free space instead of supporting the existing ones. I think thats normal. Co-working spaces are their way of making money, Erwin said.
But I think theres nothing to worry too much. Its good that the government wants to facilitate the citizen to build their own business. Not everyone can pay for a commercial co-working space.
Erwin also owns three co-working spaces, CRE8, in Cilandak, Gatot Soebroto and Pantai Indak Kapuk.
Personally, its not a problem for us. Weve known from the beginning that co-working space is not a huge money making business. We use it to facilitate the ecosystem of creative economy, he said. We have the same vision as the government. We also aid those who have good products but dont have enough capital.
Erwin thinks that the subsidized facilities will not threaten his business, because in the end, co-working space is more than just a building.
A co-working space is more than just a space, its like a second home. People will choose the ones that fit their need and interest. Every space has its own forte. In my place, for example, we offer international network they can use. So, were not fighting for the same market, he said.