Indonesia Business Immersion
Register interest

Small-group business visits to Indonesia

Rather than explain Indonesia for hours, we invite you here.

Register interest in Batch 09

Earth imagery: NASA Earth Observatory, Blue Marble Next Generation and Blue Marble clouds

Our group in conversation with Dr I Gede Subawa at his home in Bali
Bali · at home with Dr I Gede Subawa Dr I Gede Subawa, former President Director of PT Askes, which became BPJS Kesehatan in 2014, welcomed us into his home for an open conversation.

The programme

Seeing it for yourself.

We take small groups of business leaders to meet the people who teach, regulate and build in Indonesia, so they can judge an opportunity for themselves.

Batch 08 · recruitment closedBatch 09 · opening soon

A business partner wanted to understand Indonesia beyond reports and presentations, so we invited him to join us. He met the people involved, sat in on the discussions and saw projects for himself.

We have hosted seven groups so far. What participants remember most is the energy of the people: their cheerfulness, kindness, warmth and drive. Many return home saying, “I want to do business with Indonesia.” Batch 08 is the first focused on civil engineering and construction.

Your host

Anshar Safri is an Indonesian entrepreneur. He explains the market context behind each visit and stays in the discussion as a fellow business owner. This goes beyond translation: he can ask practical questions and help both sides speak openly about what company owners actually care about.

Access Participation requires a personal introduction from someone in our network.

Participants continuing a discussion over breakfast
Conversation continuesThe questions often continue over breakfast, between formal meetings.

Batch 08 · working outline

Civil engineering and construction.

This is our first group focused on the people and organisations behind Indonesia's civil engineering and construction sector. We want to understand how the field is taught, how people prepare for work, how infrastructure policy is decided and how projects move from plan to site.

Batch 09's theme and route will be agreed with the group and hosts. This list shows the kind of access a visit is built around.

Participants in discussion with Sofyan Djalil
Policy and businessA direct discussion with Sofyan Djalil, who held five different cabinet portfolios: communications, state-owned enterprises, economic affairs, national development planning, and agrarian and spatial planning.
Participants walking through a hospital construction site
Hospital constructionWalking the unfinished site with the people responsible for the project.
Participants speaking with students and staff at a Japanese language school
Japanese language educationSpeaking with students and school management about their plans for Japan.
Participants watching a welding training session
Technical trainingWatching how practical skills are taught.

  1. Civil engineering faculties

    Visit one or two universities. We will look at what students learn, where Indonesian and Japanese education differ, and where collaboration could help young people continue their study or career in Japan.

  2. Japanese language schools

    Meet students who are already learning Japanese and intend to work in Japan. Participants can hear directly about how they are preparing and what they expect from the move.

  3. Companies and industry organisations

    Speak with company leaders and industry organisations about demand, procurement, staffing, current projects and the practical constraints they face.

  4. Infrastructure policy

    Meet current or former policymakers who have worked on infrastructure. Ask how priorities, procurement, regulation and delivery are approached.

  5. Culture, architecture and everyday life

    Spend time with Indonesian people outside formal meetings, and see how local culture, architecture and the natural environment affect the way places are built and used.

  6. Active project sites

    Visit construction or infrastructure projects in progress where access, timing and site safety allow.

Previous visits

We have travelled across Indonesia with seven groups.

Previous groups have visited seven places across Java, Bali and Sulawesi. Select a city to open it in Google Maps.

Map by Uwe Dedering, made with Natural Earth. CC BY-SA 3.0.

We keep the archive short. The relationships last longer.

The energy and warmth participants feel in Indonesia stay with them after they return home. It often becomes a real desire to work with Indonesia.

That response is why we continue these visits. We want each trip to build lasting relationships and help connect people in Indonesia and Japan. The photographs below show a few of the meetings, places and moments behind those relationships.

A participant taking a photograph with students in a Jakarta school courtyard
Youth and educationA spontaneous photograph with students after talking about study and work.
Participants posing with students at a Japanese language school
Students preparing for JapanMeeting young people already studying Japanese and planning their next step.
Participants walking together through Jakarta at night
Jakarta after darkWalking through the city together after the day's meetings.
Participants laughing together over dinner by the sea
Around the tableSharing food and conversation at the end of the day.
Participants walking through a large mosque in Indonesia
Architecture and public spaceSeeing how an important public and religious building is used.
A visitor joining a community exercise session with local residents
Everyday energyJoining a morning exercise session with local residents.
Participants learning to play angklung with local musicians
CultureLearning to play angklung with local participants.
Participants watching the sunset from a beach in Bali
Between visitsA quiet pause in Bali before the next conversation.
Indonesian and Japanese participants posing after a padel game
Time togetherA padel game that made room for a different kind of conversation.

Swipe or scroll sideways to see more photographs.

Indonesia beyond the numbers

284.67 million people, and still growing.

Indonesia's population is young and growing, and Japan has set a large intake for Specified Skilled Workers. We visit the schools, employers and institutions involved so both sides can judge the opportunity. Each figure links to its source.

Participants travelling together on public transport in Jakarta
Jakarta in motionUsing the city's public transport together.

  • 284.67m

    Population of Indonesia

    BPS, SUPAS 2025

  • 1.08%

    Average annual population growth over the previous five years

    BPS, SUPAS 2025

  • 68.9%

    Estimated working-age share, calculated from BPS's dependency ratio of 45.05

    BPS, SUPAS 2025

  • 19.44%

    People aged 15 to 24 not in education, employment or training

    BPS, 2025

  • 820k

    Japan's maximum expected Specified Skilled Worker intake over five years

    Japan ISA, from April 2024

  • #4

    One long-range scenario: PwC's 2017 projection for Indonesia's 2050 GDP rank at purchasing power parity

    PwC, published 2017

Key facts

What is decided, and what is not yet.

Batch 09 is being planned. Anything not yet confirmed is marked. Nothing here is a booking.

Programme fee

¥80,000per participant, per day

Current published rate. The Batch 09 fee is confirmed when you enquire.

Hotel

Not included

Hotel accommodation is booked and paid separately.

Status
Batch 08 (25 to 30 October 2026) has closed recruitment. Batch 09 opens soon. Register interest to hear first.
Batch 09 dates and route
To be confirmedWe set the route with the group and each host.
Included
Ground transport, meals, meetings, local coordination and service fee (current basis).
Not included
Hotel accommodation, international flights, visas, travel insurance and personal spending, unless agreed otherwise in writing.
Confirmed at enquiry
At enquiryTax treatment, payment and cancellation terms, how programme days are counted, and group size.
Participation
By personal introduction from someone in our network. Small groups, chosen around shared questions.

Register interest

Register interest in Batch 09.

Tell us what you want to understand on the ground. We will write to you when Batch 09 dates, route and terms are confirmed, and tell you plainly whether the group fits your question.

Prefer email? anshar@arkastudio.id

Name the person in our network who introduced you.

What are you looking at? Select any

Your message will be emailed to Anshar.

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