CoHive Strengthens Business in Surabaya, Awaiting Coworking Space Business Breakthrough Next Year

Today (22/12), operator co-working space CoHive announced its second branch in Surabaya by partnering with TIFA Properti as a partner at Graha Bukopin Surabaya (GBS) for the 7th, 8th, and 12th floors. coworking largest international standard in East Java with a total area of ​​2500 square/meters.

CoHive first entered Surabaya in October 2019 by hooking up with Tanrise Property.

Surabaya was chosen because according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) this city has the largest creative economy player in Indonesia, namely 6,41% in 2016. The Surabaya City Government under the leadership of Mayor Tri Rismaharini has shown a commitment to support the creative economy through various initiatives, such as “Heroes Surabaya Economy” which has empowered more than 5,000 housewives to build their small businesses.

"In addition to the rapid growth of the creative economy industry, member CoHive quite a lot who want to expand to Surabaya, so with the emergence of a second branch, it will make it easier for CoHive members who want to find new workspaces in Surabaya," said CoHive CEO Chris Angkasa in an official statement.

Armed with the data from BPS above, it is in line with CoHive's commitment to become a forum for the entrepreneur ecosystem to support economic growth and startups in Surabaya which are growing. Also, providing access to a wider business network.

“In addition to providing access to a community and business network, CoHive addresses the needs of small and medium-sized businesses for a flexible and affordable workspace.”

Chris continued, at this location the company offers various types of membership such as daily pass, team deskand private office. Other space provided, among others meeting room on an hourly rental system.

Last week, Chris was officially announced as the new CEO of CoHive replacing Jason Lee who is now the President of CoHive. Previously Chris founded Clapham Collective in Medan in 2015. After Clapham and CoHive (then EV Hive) in 2017, he continues to be involved in CoHive as a member of the company's Advisory Board.

Business projection coworking at 2021

Business co-working space including many industries affected by the pandemic. In writing DailySocial previously, mentioned in the first three months of the pandemic the occupancy was almost 0% because the majority of members closed their locations for two to three months. The data was compiled from a mini-survey made by the Indonesian Coworking Association. The survey was attended by 30%-40% of the total 250 members representing around 100 businesses co-working space.

Now the condition has started to improve gradually due to the gradual easing of PSBB in big cities, although it has not returned 100% to pre-pandemic conditions.

In a separate interview together DailySocial, Chris said still in position wait and see with the market situation. Careful observation is needed because the behavior of workers will change. However, for the Indonesian context, he continued, the behavior of workers will not change completely, especially those related to employment tangible capital, of course demand from physical space there still is.

“Traditionally, this demand can still be met by conventional space rental businesses. However, for the service or technology sector, the demand for workspace will decrease because most types of work can be done outside the office, for example at home or in a coffee shop.”

Therefore, regarding the company's strategy for next year, he admits that it is difficult to make projections because he is now dealing with a different world from the past. “So we can't extrapolate data from the past to the future. Maybe in 3-6 months, we can have a clearer view of it landscape business in the coming year.”

CoHive itself is one of the operators co-working space with the widest network in Indonesia. They operate 30 locations with a total building area of ​​60 square meters in Jakarta, Medan, Yogyakarta and Surabaya. Under observation DailySocial, CoHive closed the location in Bali which is most likely to happen this year.

Continuing from there, quoting from the report DSResearch“Creative Hub Landscape in Indonesia 2020” which was compiled with the Directorate of Creative Economy Infrastructure, stated that the pandemic could encourage more workers to use creative hub (designation of co-working space) as a flexible workplace option.

Operators are also adapting their business models to suit the situation, such as a more relaxed cancellation period, or lower prices for new members and promos for active members; implementing sanitation standards; determine the target market and develop innovations in marketing strategies; private office preferences, and so on.

Even though co-working space experienced a decrease in users, but in the future it will be a more suitable choice for companies that want to save costs rather than having to rent buildings fixed. "Business opportunities like this may not yet be seen in value, but addressing today's challenges will put them at the forefront of the line to be exploited in due course," the report said.

Still in the same report, whereabouts co-working space in a city actually greatly affects the growth of the startup industry or users. In Yogyakarta, it is said that there are many companies from abroad, such as Singapore, which have started looking for talents in Indonesia.

Every year there are around 50 new startups that try their talents in Yogyakarta. As a result, the more startups, the bigger the role co-working space. "So if there are startups that are interested in expanding overseas or domestically, they would prefer to have an office in a coworking space," said Timekita.com CEO Ilham as Block71 user in Yogyakarta.

Apart from the aspect of regional context, one of the offerings that is quite promising in the future is the online facility from creative hub. creative hub will continue to grow as long as it can optimize and increase the use of online tools.

As stated by CEO Growpal Paundra as a user of Block71 Jakarta, accommodation for events through online platforms is easier due to the limited number of users who can gather as before. This effort is in line with the habits of people who have turned to online activities since the pandemic.