RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Minister of Creative Economy/Head of the Creative Economy Agency, Teuku Riefky Harsya, received representatives from the Indonesian Furniture Designers Association (HDMI) to discuss the potential for strengthening the creative economy ecosystem, particularly the furniture industry.

The meeting emphasized the importance of collaboration between the government and associations in accelerating talent development, increasing design competitiveness, and promoting the added value of national furniture products based on intellectual property.

"Associations like HDMI play a crucial role in helping us curate creative talent ready for acceleration. Associations are the ones who best understand the challenges and potential," said the Minister of Creative Economy at the Ministry of Creative Economy Office in Jakarta, Tuesday, 3 March 2026.

HDMI is a professional organization that brings together furniture designers from various regions in Indonesia. Founded on October 28, 2010, at Paramadina University, HDMI now has around 200 members spread across several provinces. Within the creative industry ecosystem, HDMI serves as a strategic partner to the government, collaborating with job training institutions, and serving as a reference and partner for Professional Certification Institutions (LSP) in strengthening the standards and competencies of national furniture designers.

One of HDMI's focuses this year is encouraging increased added value for furniture products through intellectual property management. In line with this, the Ministry of Creative Economy is strengthening IP-based funding schemes to provide creative industry players, including furniture designers, with more inclusive access to financing.

"In Indonesia, we currently only have Business Appraisal and Property Appraisal. Yesterday, we inaugurated 64 IP Evaluators or IP Appraisers trained by the WIPO organization. These 64 individuals will become banking partners for intellectual property-based People's Business Credit (KUR) financing. This means we are building a funding ecosystem," Teuku Riefky conveyed.

Meanwhile, HDMI Advisory Board Member, R.M. Satya Brahmantya, emphasized Indonesia's comparative advantage in natural resources as a strong foundation for the furniture design industry.

"Designers in Indonesia actually have a privilege because our natural resources for raw materials are very rich, for example, teak, rattan, and bamboo, with thousands of species and types spread across various regions. We need to compete in added value, materials, skills, character, and storytelling," Brahmantya stated.

On the same occasion, Yuke Sri Rahayu, Deputy for Cultural Creativity and Design, added that the furniture subsector has a strong industrial foundation and has the potential to be included in the Ministry's acceleration program. "This is interesting because furniture is also included in the crafts subsector and already has a strong industry. Perhaps in the future, furniture could be included in our acceleration program," Yuke said.