Indonesia’s ambition to build a digital-driven economy has taken a major step forward with the launch of a new agritech foodtech innovation hub in Medan. The initiative, known as Garuda Spark Innovation Hub, was inaugurated by the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi) as the first digital-collaboration space in Sumatra dedicated to food technology, agriculture innovation and startup scaling.

With this launch, Medan officially joins Jakarta and Bandung as the third city in Indonesia to host a Garuda Spark facility, reflecting a broader national strategy to decentralize innovation beyond Java and empower regional digital ecosystems. The move is part of Indonesia’s long-term digital transformation agenda, aligned with the Indonesia Digital 2045 vision and national food-security priorities.

At its core, the agritech foodtech innovation hub seeks to accelerate technological adoption in agriculture and food systems, nurture young entrepreneurs and create a bridge between local talent and national as well as global innovation networks.

According to Minister Meutya Hafid, the program reflects Indonesia’s commitment to ensuring future generations are equipped to harness AI and digital technologies in core sectors that sustain national needs. She emphasized that the agritech and foodtech focus in Medan represents a strategic investment in the country’s food resilience and technological independence.

“Medan has extraordinary creative and digital talent,” she stated during the launch event. “This innovation hub is designed to connect local talent with industries and investors while strengthening food security through technology.”

Why Medan Was Chosen as the Agritech Foodtech Innovation Hub

Selecting Medan as the new home for an agritech foodtech innovation hub was far from accidental. Medan is already one of Indonesia’s fastest-growing digital cities and has evolved from a traditional trading center into a hub of modern ideas and technology.

According to the 2025 Digital Competitiveness Index, Medan ranked 7th among Indonesia’s most digitally competitive cities. This data reflects not only infrastructure readiness but also the talent pool, digital adoption rates and growing startup activities in the region.

Medan also serves as a strategic gateway to western Indonesia and Southeast Asia, supported by strong logistics networks, agricultural productivity and a rapidly expanding digital economy. With deep agricultural roots and a growing creative sector, the city offers a unique environment for fostering agritech and foodtech startups.

Through the Garuda Spark facility, Kemkomdigi aims to encourage young innovators to transform traditional agricultural processes using digital tools, artificial intelligence, automation, digital marketplaces, food-safety tracing systems and smart-supply-chain platforms.

In other words, the program intends to build technology not just for the future economy but for basic needs that sustain everyday life.

Inside the Garuda Spark Medan Model: Talent, Startups, and Industry Synergy

The Garuda Spark Medan hub is designed as a collaborative platform where startups, academic institutions, investors and corporations can work together to innovate and scale solutions. With a specialized focus on agritech and foodtech, the hub will offer:

• Digital and startup training programs
• Industry-expert mentoring and business advisory sessions
• Networking opportunities with investors and tech partners
• Access to workspace, facilities and innovation tools

Director General of Digital Ecosystem Edwin Hidayat Abdullah explained that the hub is not just a coworking space but a full innovation pipeline for future techpreneurs in Medan and Sumatra.

“We are here to build techpreneurs and digital talent ready to compete globally,” he said. “We want to see more technology companies born from regions, not only Jakarta.”

The hub aims to unlock opportunities in:

• Precision agriculture and smart farming
• Food supply-chain technology
• Food innovation and product development
• Agricultural marketplace platforms
• IoT, AI and automation for farming and food processing

By nurturing startups at early and growth stages, the agritech foodtech innovation hub is positioned to play a critical role in supporting food-security programs, reducing post-harvest waste, enhancing supply-chain transparency and improving farmer incomes through digital efficiencies.

A Key Pillar for Indonesia Digital 2045 and National Food Security

Indonesia’s long-term digital blueprint, Indonesia Digital 2045, aims to create a resilient, inclusive and globally competitive digital economy. The Medan innovation hub directly supports three pillars of this strategy:

1. Building millions of digital talents nationwide
2. Strengthening innovation and technology capability across industries
3. Equalizing digital opportunities outside Java

By placing an agritech foodtech innovation hub in Medan, the government signals that regional innovation will be essential to achieving digital and economic equity. It also aligns innovation efforts with one of Indonesia’s most urgent missions: ensuring food security in a changing world.

Agriculture remains a core component of Indonesia’s economy and identity. Modernizing it through entrepreneurship and technology is essential to achieving long-term resilience, improving productivity and ensuring sustainable growth.

Conclusion: A New Milestone for Regional Innovation in Indonesia

With the official launch of the agritech foodtech innovation hub in Medan, Indonesia enters a new chapter in decentralizing its innovation ecosystem and strengthening food-system resilience through digital transformation.

The hub is expected to stimulate the rise of new technology founders, empower young innovators and ignite collaboration between academia, industry and investors. It also stands as a powerful symbol of Indonesia’s commitment to equitable digital-economy growth across the archipelago.

If successful, Medan’s model could become a reference point for similar hubs nationwide, proving that technology-driven innovation need not be concentrated in the country’s capital to make a national impact. The agritech foodtech innovation hub is not just a facility. It is an investment in the future of Indonesia’s food innovation, technological sovereignty and digital prosperity.