Jakarta to launch its own 'Hive' co-working space

The Jakarta Government will launch a co-working space for startups in June called the "Jakarta Smart City Hive", it has revealed to GovInsider. “We will collaborate with private sector to manage and operate the co-working space,” said Setiaji, head of the Smart City Unit.

The government itself will not fund the startups, but will work with venture capitalists to help startups get funding, he said. The programme will allow the government to better understand the needs of startups, Setiaji hopes.

“We will collect data on startups which use our co-working space,” he said, by asking the startups to register online before they can use the facilities. This will allow it to match startups at early stages with more mentors from more experienced startups. “With this data, we will invite senior startups to give their experience to junior startups,” Setiaji said.

Startups will be a charged a fee of $25 per month to use the space. Jakarta’s support for startups has been a crucial pillar of its plan to provide better public services.

The Smart City Unit has an existing co-working space for startups within its own office. Here it works directly with startups to build apps and analyse data for the government, allowing it to get access to these skills quicker without having to recruit.

In the future, Jakarta hopes it can make it easier to run startups in the city. It plans to station officials at co-working spaces to help entrepreneurs navigate government regulations and permits.

Jakarta has partnered with EV Hive, a private sector company, to run the co-working space.

“As a strong advocate for building the Indonesian technology ecosystem, EV Hive looks forward to continuing to build a long relationship with the Jakarta government," the company said in a statement.

"The Jakarta government’s strong vision for the startups is line with our vision for strengthening relations between businesses and the government in order to connect the fragmented startup ecosystem and providing a conducive environment for new companies to succeed in Indonesia,” it added.