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Coworking spaces offer versatile settings for technopreneurs in Yogyakarta and Bali

The transition from a commodity-based to a creative-based digital economy has opened many opportunities for technopreneurs across the globe. As they are still forging their businesses, these technopreneurs typically do not have offices yet.

Inforial (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Tue, February 19, 2019

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Coworking spaces offer versatile settings for technopreneurs in Yogyakarta and Bali CoHive 2019

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he transition from a commodity-based to a creative-based digital economy has opened many opportunities for technopreneurs across the globe. As they are still forging their businesses, these technopreneurs typically do not have offices yet. Thereby, they have to make do with remote working, which has largely been enabled by advancements in technology and connectivity. The fact that these technopreneurs do not have a fixed working station has earned them the name digital nomads.

Digital nomads are flourishing across the globe, including Indonesia, along with the rise of the digital economy. In Indonesia, at least two places outside Jakarta emerge prominently as the new hubs of the digital economy: Yogyakarta and Bali. Yogyakarta and Bali can also be attractive alternatives as places to live and work in Jakarta, an overcrowded place with heavy traffic.

Both places offer tranquil settings as well as many cultural leisure destinations: Yogyakarta, which is very close to Prambanan temple and in proximity to the iconic Borobudur temple in Central Java. Bali, meanwhile, is famous for its beaches as well as culinary paradise. They make an ideal location for the young digital nomads, who make it their mission to work remotely so that they can enjoy their penchant of traveling, to live and work in.

Many people want to get out of the noisy setting of Jakarta yet are reluctant to do so because the capital city of Indonesia is the headquarters of many large corporations. These young digital nomads, however, will have no problem relocating to either Yogyakarta or Bali to develop their own businesses. Let us make our case here.

CoHive 2019
CoHive 2019

To make a more compelling argument, the Creative Economy Agency (BEKRAF) writes in its website bekraf.go.id that Yogyakarta has a number of advantages supporting its rise to become Indonesia’s next digital economy hub: the abundance of tech-savvy creative talents in the city as well as the availability of infrastructure necessary to spur the growth of digital economy, including creative communities, business incubators, and accelerators. Similar situations have also been observed in Bali.

It makes sense that Yogyakarta has risen to be Indonesia’s next digital economy hub. There are many people of the young generation currently pursuing their studies there, all the while starting to develop their digital businesses. According to 2018 data from the Private Universities Coordinating Body, more than 220,000 students are studying in the city’s private universities. Upon combined with the number of students pursuing their degrees in state-owned universities, the number could exceed 350,000.

Furthermore, Yogyakarta and Bali are known for their status as two of Indonesia’s most popular tourist destinations, with many hostels as well as hospitality businesses – comprising food and entertainment – thriving in the area. This alone opens a lot of business opportunities for both freelancers and entrepreneurs to tap into, by optimizing these local leisure businesses through the use of digital technology.

In Yogyakarta alone, a city known for its cultural and intellectual pull, most of the digital entrepreneurs develop creative applications such as games. Bali’s technopreneurs, meanwhile, focus more on hospitality and tourism, as reported by Antara.

Bali’s unique cultural vibe, along with its beautiful landscapes, meanwhile, makes the island an ideal choice for digital nomads who now like to work while enjoying their penchant for traveling. For a lot of creative digital nomads in particular, Bali offers a great setting for these creative workers to keep their inspirations going. Many coworking spaces are also flourishing in Bali, evenly distributed across the island’s most popular various tourism hubs – Ubud, Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta and Gianyar – to cater to this growing demand from digital nomads.

CoHive 2019
CoHive 2019

Globally, the trend itself will continue to thrive in the near future: by 2020, companies like software firm Intuit predict the gig economy – a term referring to people earning money as freelancers instead of working full-time for corporations – will make up about 43 percent of the workforce. This growth is attributed to the fact that the gig economy opens more businesses opportunities worldwide for global talents, helping them earn more money and enjoy longer careers.

If you were one of those people still developing their startup companies, you might think that working at home would be the best choice for you. Renting an office space might require you to have a certain number of employees and assets. Besides not costing a lot of transport and consumption money, for some people, working at home provides them with a relaxed atmosphere they need to keep their minds fresh from time to time.

Working at home, however, has some limitations to it. First of all, it does not give you a chance to socialize and network with other workers, which might end up with you feeling lonely. When you rarely network with others, furthermore, you might miss the opportunities to advance your business that will otherwise come to you if you socialize regularly with people across different sectors. So, how to find the most ideal work setting for you as a digital nomad?

Change your work paradigm

CoHive 2019
CoHive 2019

Recently, CoHive encourages you to change your working style (through its campaign hashtag #UbahCaraKerjaMu). To encourage this shift in the working style of entrepreneurs and freelancers outside Jakarta, CoHive has also decided to expand its operations to Yogyakarta and Bali, providing its services to entrepreneurs and freelancers living in these two places after the brand has established several coworking spaces in Jakarta, Tangerang in Banten and Medan, North Sumatra. 

By renting coworking spaces, you will get to socialize and mingle with fellow entrepreneurs across different industrial sectors in an open place office setting. These coworking spaces typically have flexible space arrangements, so once you need to withdraw and concentrate on a difficult work by working alone, you can just get into their private working rooms before you feel you are ready to get out and socialize with your peers again.

But wait a minute, you might say. What about the comfort of home, which has always rejuvenated your mind with its relaxing atmosphere? To keep up with the trend promoting work and life balance, typical coworking spaces also have their so-called “chillax” spaces for you to lay back for a while and cool your mind down at the end of a challenging task, so you can move on to your next task with a mind that operates more energetically.

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