Jean-Philippe Beraud, Deputy Director of the Institut de Soudure Group in Indonesia

"I arrived in Jakarta in 2009 as part of a Volontariat International en Entreprise (VIE) programme. I worked for Aramis, an oil engineering company, and for its subsidiary PT IPP, first as Business Developer Manager, then as Operations Manager. This experience through Ubifrance was a real springboard. After two years in Jakarta, I was able to join the Institut de Soudure group, a service company for manufacturers offering inspection, expertise, professional training and certification services in the field of welded assemblies. So I didn't go back to France and chose to invest myself in the Institut team. Together, we have grown the subsidiary, not only in Indonesia, but also in the South-East Asia region. I enjoy life in Indonesia, a very dynamic country where it's easy to join business networks and form a circle of key players in your business. What's more, the expatriate community remains small compared with other cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo. This is a real advantage, because it's easy to get to know people who would take months to meet elsewhere. As a manager, working with Indonesians can be a real culture shock, but it's also a daily life lesson. Indonesians are focused on the here and now and have little inclination to plan ahead. On the other hand, they have a real ability to solve problems and always remain calm, respectful and smiling. Jakarta's economic dynamism is also a major asset. The middle class is exploding; political stability under the new President Jokowi is reassuring foreign investors and giving rise to a multitude of projects in a variety of sectors. When you want to set up here, the challenge is to find the right local partner to ensure the long-term future of your business. But a word of advice: in a megalopolis like Jakarta, it's also essential to relax.