Irene Umar

Vice Minister of the Creative Economy

Ministry of the Creative Economy

Speaker Biography

Vice Minister of Creative Economy and Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency and first-time cabinet appointee. Her background is in finance and extends to the creative economy, especially in games, technology and blockchain. After graduating from President University (Bachelor of Economics) in 2008, she worked at Standard Chartered Bank for 7 years in Dubai and Singapore before returning to Indonesia to join the Presidential University Foundation, where she was appointed Associate Director (Corporate Finance, Leveraged Finance) in 2015.

She established the non-profit Our Nation Education (ONE) Hub in 2015 and has been Managing Partner of Discovery Nusantara Capital (a venture fund in the tech sector) since 2016. She is currently listed as CEO & Founder of W3GG (formerly YGG SEA), an exclusive partner of Yield Guild Games (YGG) specifically for Southeast Asia. YGG is a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) that invests in NFT assets for blockchain games. She is among 56 individuals appointed by President Prabowo as Vice Minister or equivalent and serves as Vice Minister under Teuku Riefky Harsya, Minister of Creative Economy and Head of the Creative Economy Agency since October 21, 2024.

As Vice Minister and Deputy Head, she advances Indonesia’s digital and creative economy sectors, emphasising the importance of integrating blockchain technology and supporting the gaming industry’s growth and development of esports as a way to create employment and stimulate economic growth. Industry stakeholders view her as a direct representation of the creative industry in policymaking, anticipating greater public-private collaboration and support for the development of local talent and infrastructure in the gaming sector.

View all speakers