You don't need a factory to start a business. Young people buy in bulk from B2B platforms or TikTok Shop, then resell on WhatsApp Status or Instagram Stories. The hottest items? Korean skincare, thrift clothes, and homemade kue (cookies).
Platforms like Shopee Live and TikTok Live have birthed a new career path. Young people are leaving traditional office jobs to become host live streaming , often earning three times the regional minimum wage by selling everything from skincare to second-hand clothing. 2. "Nongkrong" 2.0: The Rise of Aesthetic Third Places The concept of nongkrong (hanging out/loitering) is sacred in Indonesian culture. Historically, it involved sitting on a curb drinking a plastic bag of iced tea. Today, Indonesian youth culture has elevated nongkrong into a curated aesthetic experience. You don't need a factory to start a business
A new generation of Indonesian indie rock and pop bands (like Reality Club, L'alphalpha, and .Feast) are selling out shows from Jakarta to Denpasar. They sing in a mix of English and Bahasa Indonesia, tackling themes of quarter-life crisis, political apathy, and mental health. Korean skincare, thrift clothes, and homemade kue (cookies)
They are not trying to be Western. They are not trying to be purely traditional. They are creating something new: a globalized, digitally-native, hyper-local identity that is unapologetically Indonesian. The conversation continues below.
And it’s moving faster than your Wi-Fi connection. What trend do you see emerging in your city? Is it the thrift stores or the indie bands? The conversation continues below.