Inacraft 2023 is held for 5 days from March 1-5 at the Jakarta International Convention Center (JCC) with the theme The Authentic South Sulawesi.
Heaptalk, Jakarta — International Handicraft Trade Fair (Inacraft) 2023 was inaugurated by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno at the Assembly Hall of the Jakarta International Convention Center (03/01). The 23rd Inacraft takes place over 5 days March 1-5, 2023.
At the direction of President Joko Widodo, Sandiaga attended the opening of the largest handicraft exhibition in Indonesia with the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki. As an event for interaction and transformation that has been held since 1999, Sandiaga saw many representatives of friendly countries and neighboring countries present at the opening of Inacraft, including the Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy and the Minister of Law from Sarawak.
“This is an achievement that we expect aligned with our chairmanship of ASEAN where we can further strengthen intra-ASEAN relations to develop the creative economy, primarily in the craft subsector,” said Sandiaga.
In 2019, Inacraft successfully connected transaction services reaching Rp140 billion or worth US$9.1 million (US$1 equals to Rp15,277). Meanwhile, the post-pandemic Inacraft in March 2022 reached a total transaction of Rp50 billion, equivalent to US3.2 million. Sandiaga hopes that the 23rd Inacraft can return the result to pre-pandemic attainment.
“Through the Inacraft moment, we hope to be able to promote not only domestically but also our creative economy products, Indonesian handicrafts can go global. Therefore, our presence here represents the President to encourage, especially for those in the craft subsector,” said Sandiaga.
Further, Minister Sandiaga expressed his gratitude to the Indonesian Handicraft Producers and Exporters Association (Asephi) for consistently trying to open up business opportunities and promote Indonesian products. “We will go all out from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. There is the Deputy for Marketing Ni Made Ayu Marthini who will later facilitate the promotion. There is Muhammad Neil El Himam Deputy for Digital Economy and Creative Products who will help digitize the products of the MSMEs,” conveyed Sandi.
In addition, Sandiaga appreciated the South Sulawesi Provincial Government for being the icon of the Inacraft 2023 exhibition. He invited all attendees to support the Inacraft exhibition with a spirit of “Proud of Indonesian products”. With this spirit, he is optimistic that Indonesia will be able to create business and employment opportunities with a target of 4.4 million new jobs by 2024.
Carrying the theme of The Authentic South Sulawesi
Meanwhile, South Sulawesi Governor Andi Sudirman Sulaiman expressed his pride that South Sulawesi could become an icon of Inacraft 2023 with the theme of The Authentic South Sulawesi. He said, “Last year we got the title of the best booth at Inacraft. This year we invite 24 districts/cities to contribute to this activity. All of our elements take part in one of the largest exhibition activities in Southeast Asia.”
According to Andi, South Sulawesi’s participation in the 23rd Inacraft is one of the efforts to restore the glory that once existed in South Sulawesi, one of which is to encourage the glory of silk. Andi voiced “In the past, Soppeng and Wajo were famous for their silk. Now, in the last 2 years, we have pioneered, including planting mulberry around 2.5 million plants in Wajo and there are several plants also in Soppeng. We also provide the best available mills as spinners.”
“We encourage local wisdom, which we then want to bring to national and international standards. We expect support from the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy and the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs. We hope that the Ministers can visit South Sulawesi as the MSMEs spirit in South Sulawesi is very strong,” concluded Andi.
