← Back to Stories Trade, Sourcing & SME Collaborations — Aug 2026

500 SMEs, 17,000+ Islands — A Small Window into Indonesia

What one afternoon at Karya Kreatif Indonesia revealed about the extraordinary range of products, craftsmanship and possibilities within Indonesia's SME economy.

Indonesian textiles displayed beneath a woven map of the Indonesian archipelago at Karya Kreatif Indonesia

Walking through Karya Kreatif Indonesia (KKI) at the Jakarta Convention Center, where more than 500 Indonesian SMEs gathered to showcase their products, one thing became very clear to me: Indonesia has far more to offer the world than many international buyers may realise.

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, stretching thousands of kilometres from west to east. Across those islands are hundreds of ethnic groups, languages, local traditions and distinctive forms of craftsmanship — shaped by different histories, landscapes, materials and cultural influences.

A small representation of that diversity

At KKI, you could see a small representation of that diversity in one place.

Textiles, woven fabrics, batik, jewellery, homeware, accessories, natural materials, food products and contemporary interpretations of traditional crafts sat alongside businesses that are learning how to package generations of local knowledge for today's market.

Contemporary Indonesian wooden tableware, home accessories and natural-material lighting displayed at KKI

The possibility behind the products

But what interested me most was not simply the number of products.

It was the possibility behind them.

For European SMEs, designers, retailers, museums, hospitality businesses and other organisations looking for something distinctive, Indonesia represents an enormous sourcing and collaboration landscape that is still relatively unexplored.

Many Indonesian SMEs will never have the scale of a large industrial manufacturer — and that can actually be part of their value. They may work in smaller quantities, use regional techniques and materials, collaborate closely with craftspeople, and produce things that carry a genuine connection to a particular place and community.

Woven baskets and functional products made from natural materials on display at KKI

From Indonesian craft to European markets

The challenge is connecting these businesses with the right international partners.

A beautiful product displayed in Jakarta does not automatically become a viable product in Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp. There are questions of quality consistency, pricing, packaging, logistics, export readiness, certification, communication and, perhaps most importantly, market fit.

That is where I see an interesting opportunity.

Rather than simply asking, “What can Indonesia export to Europe?”, perhaps we should be asking:

Which Indonesian products, makers and stories could be meaningful to European markets — and who are the right partners to bring them there?

This is also why smaller pilot collaborations can be useful. A limited order with the right retailer, museum shop, designer or hospitality partner can reveal far more than trying to scale before understanding the market.

Large Indonesian textile depicting wayang figures and architectural motifs displayed at KKI

Barely scratching the surface

After seeing more than 500 SMEs gathered at KKI, I came away thinking that we have barely scratched the surface.

Indonesia has thousands of islands worth exploring.

And behind many of them, there may be a product, a craft, a business — and a story worth discovering.