Navigating Southeast Asian Market Entry Through Cross-Border Collaboration
New strategies, shared regional knowledge and anchored relationships forged from professional placement
Overview
Strategic Development Group (Strategic) implemented the Professional Placements Program on behalf of the Australian Government to enable Australian and Southeast Asian businesses to send and receive early- to mid-career professionals for international professional placements. Through this program, Strategic has enabled knowledge exchange and capacity-building opportunities for 58 businesses, fostering enduring business-to-business relationships grounded in strong people-to-people connections.
In September 2025, an Indonesian culinary heritage organisation, Atelier Rasa, hosted the General Manager of an Australian food distribution company, Bulkbox Foods, for a four-week business placement under the Professional Placements program.
ParticiPATING ORGANISATIONS
Two organisations participated in this professional placement.
Indonesian Organisation: Atelier Rasa
Culinary heritage organisation, Jakarta, Indonesia
Australian Business: Bulkbox Foods
Food distribution company, Melbourne, Australia
Atelier Rasa, part of the NUSA Indonesian Gastronomy Foundation, is a collective food space committed to safeguarding and promoting Indonesia’s culinary heritage. Atelier Rasa showcases the richness of Indonesian cuisine through curated literature, and authentic food experiences, with a strong focus on preserving traditional recipes and cooking practices.
The Opportunity: The team hosted Dominic to gain regional insights and build relationships with like-minded, forward-thinking Australian businesses.
Bulkbox Foods is an Australian-based end-to-end food distribution company, championing the quality, regenerative practices and provenance of premium Australian meat, dairy and consumer packaged goods. The program enabled the company’s General Manager – Asia Pacific, Dominic Sheehan, to undertake a four-week placement with Atelier Rasa in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Opportunity: Bulkbox Foods was interested to explore strategies to enter the Southeast Asia market, so it was a great opportunity for Dominic to gain immersive, in-country experience to help shape this approach.
“We’ve been really wanting to get on the ground and be able to network with the right people to ask the right questions, as researching from abroad and trying to understand the administrative red tape and consumer market can only get you so far.”
Participant Experience and Insights
Upon arriving in Jakarta, Dominic participated in a three-day cultural orientation facilitated by the program, including a visit to the Australian Embassy hosted by Ambassador Rod Brazier. The visit featured briefings from Austrade and Deal Teams representatives, offering valuable insights into Australia-Indonesia trade and investment opportunities.
Dominic Sheehan, General Manager – Asia Pacific, Bulkbox Foods, Australia, during his placement
“Another highlight was going to the Australian Embassy. I was sitting by the Agri-Food Trade Commissioner and across from the Ambassador and I could ask them some direct questions about market entry and challenges, but also we were able to have an organic conversation that actually elicited a few business ideas.”
During his placement, Dominic accessed a range of networking opportunities, attending major events such as the ASEAN for the Peoples Conference, Trade Expo Indonesia, and the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival. He focused on gaining insights from industry experts and local stakeholders, building connections with prospective partners, including suppliers, importers, and logistics companies. Dominic also explored potential locations for a restaurant expansion, gaining valuable on-the-ground market insights while being immersed in Indonesian business culture.
“We’re exploring taking-up some restaurant space in a government-owned hotel, so it was good to hear the locals’ intuitive thoughts on it.”
“One slightly surprising element that is different to the Australian context is how social and relationship-oriented doing business here can be.”
Placement outcomes
For Atelier Rasa, hosting Dominic presented a valuable opportunity to connect with a like-minded Australian business and explore avenues for collaboration. The placement fostered knowledge sharing and talent exchange, laying the groundwork for future creative ventures. Building on this experience, Atelier Rasa is now working with Dominic on an Indonesian cookbook project, drawing on his insights to help shape its development.
Recognising the value of these connections, Dominic extended his stay beyond the initial placement period to attend additional conferences and deepen engagement with industry stakeholders. Dominic is now collaborating with local partners and a fellow program participant, seeking to conduct field research that showcases best practices, facilitates knowledge-sharing, and fosters trade and collaboration on sustainable aquafarming across Indonesia, Australia, and the Philippines.
Dominic’s placement underscored the long-term value of cross-border knowledge exchange in the food and beverage industry. The relationships established in Jakarta continued to create opportunities well beyond the placement itself, including when Dominic later hosted a Southeast Asian professional in Australia through the Melbourne 2026 Program – someone he had first met during the Jakarta program. Click here to learn more about the Melbourne 2026 Program. His experience illustrates how a single professional connection can evolve into an enduring partnership, fostering ongoing collaboration, knowledge sharing, and deeper regional engagement.
Dominic Sheehan meeting Bunardy Pranata, Strategic Operations Associate Lead at Blibli, during a company visit in Jakarta as part of the Jakarta 2025 Program.
Seven months later, Bunardy on professional placement with Dominic in Melbourne through the Melbourne 2026 Program.
Benefits and Broader Impact from this Placement
For the Host Organisation in Indonesia:
· Strengthened ties with Australia
· Shared knowledge and exchanged expertise
· Opened doors for future collaboration, including a cookbook project
For the Participant from Australia:
· Gained immersive experience to inform Southeast Asia market entry
· Gained cultural, regulatory, and business insights.
· Built networks with suppliers, importers, and government representatives
Conclusion
The Professional Placements Program was more than a knowledge exchange – it created enduring relationships between Australian and Southeast Asian businesses. For host organisations like Atelier Rasa, it provided fresh regional perspectives and market insights, while for participants like Dominic, it informed business strategy, expanded networks, and deepened understanding of new markets.
The impact continues long after the placement, as the relationships formed through the exchange foster ongoing collaboration, knowledge sharing, and deeper industry-to-industry connections between Australia and Indonesia.
About the Professional Placements program
The Professional Placements Program is funded by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade under Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. The program offers support to Australian and Southeast Asian businesses to send or host temporary professional placements of young professionals between Australia and Southeast Asia. Eligible countries are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
