The 8 Best Networking Events in Bali for Founders in 2026
I've been to hundreds of events in Bali. Most are surface-level. A handful are genuinely worth your time. Here is what I'd recommend to a founder arriving in Bali this week.
Marina Jaubert
Founder, Ascend to Bali
In this article
- What makes a Bali event worth attending
- The landscape: types of events
- Top 8 events and communities with honest notes
- Connect & Co-Create and what makes it different
- How to get into the right rooms
A curated, honest guide to the best founder and entrepreneur events in Bali, from Canggu masterminds to Uluwatu retreats. What's worth attending and what to skip.
I have a complicated relationship with the word "networking." It implies something transactional, collecting cards, pitching strangers, working a room. That's not what the best events in Bali are about.
The events worth attending in Bali are the ones where you leave with two or three people you genuinely want to stay in touch with, not because you might need them, but because the conversation was real. Those events exist. They're just not the ones being promoted loudest on Instagram.
Here is my honest guide to what's worth your time in 2026.
What makes a Bali event worth attending
Before the list, a filter. I use three questions to evaluate any event:
- ✦Who curates the room? Open-invite events attract everyone. Curated events attract the right people. The quality of the room is the quality of the host's judgment.
- ✦What's the format? Panels and speakers are passive. Dinners, roundtables, and experiences are generative. Generative formats produce relationships. Passive formats produce followers.
- ✦What's the energy after? The best events keep going. People linger. Side conversations happen at the bar. The "event" ends and the real thing starts.
With that lens, here's what I'd recommend.
The 8 events and communities worth knowing
1. Connect & Co-Create (Ascend to Bali)
Best for: founders, coaches, operators
This is the event series I run, so I'll be transparent about that upfront. Connect & Co-Create is an invitation-only gathering: dinners, roundtables, and full-day masterminds for founders and leaders who are serious about what they're building. The format varies: some evenings are intimate dinners of 12, some are larger curated rooms of 40–60. What doesn't change is the curation. Every person in the room has been chosen. That's not elitism, it's respect for everyone's time.
Format: Dinners, masterminds, half-day experiences. Frequency: 2–4 per month. Cost: $75–$300 depending on format. Apply at: /apply
2. Bali Gather
Best for: general founder community, newcomers
One of the longer-running founder meetups in Canggu. Open invite, which means the room quality varies, but it's a genuinely good place to get a pulse on who's in Bali right now. I'd recommend going once when you first arrive, then being more selective after that. Great for orientation, not as strong for deep work.
Format: Casual evening meetup. Frequency: Monthly. Cost: Free–$20.
3. Female Founders Bali
Best for: women founders, coaches, consultants
A growing community for women building businesses in Bali. Quality has improved significantly in the last 12 months as it's gotten more curated. If you're a woman founder, this is worth checking in on. The conversations are more personal and less transactional than most mixed-gender events.
Format: Monthly brunch, occasional workshops. Cost: $20–$60.
4. Canggu Mastermind
Best for: online business owners, digital nomads scaling to 7 figures
A structured peer advisory format: small groups, accountability, and direct advice. More structured than most Bali events. If you respond well to that format and you're running a digital business, worth exploring. Can feel intense if you're not in that headspace.
Format: Weekly small-group session. Cost: Varies by cohort ($200–$600/month).
5. Dojo Bali Events
Best for: nomads, tech founders, freelancers
Dojo is one of Bali's original coworking spaces in Canggu and they run community events regularly. Accessible, well-run, and a reliable way to meet people who are actually working (not just on holiday). Not deeply curated, but consistently decent. Good if you're new and want a low-barrier entry point.
Format: Casual coworking community events. Cost: Free with coworking membership.
6. Uluwatu Founders Dinners
Best for: Uluwatu-based founders, investors, builders
An informal series of dinners that has emerged organically in Uluwatu over the last 18 months. More intimate than the Canggu scene. Less volume, more depth. If you're based in Uluwatu and want community without the 45-minute drive to Canggu every time, this is where to focus. Keep your eyes on the Ascend network for invitations, these aren't publicly listed.
Format: Private dinners, 8–20 people. Frequency: Monthly. Cost: Dinner price.
7. Bali Spirit Festival (annual)
Best for: wellness entrepreneurs, coaches, operators
Not a "business" event in the traditional sense, but if you're in the wellness, coaching, or conscious business space, the quality of people at Bali Spirit Festival is remarkable. The relationships I've seen start there have led to partnerships, retreats, and collaborations. Goes for a week in April. Worth building your calendar around it if it's relevant to your work.
Format: Multi-day festival (yoga, talks, workshops). Annual (April). Cost: $100–$400 for passes.
8. Private Mastermind Days
Best for: established founders wanting depth over volume
Some of the best "events" in Bali are not events at all, they're private days hosted by well-connected individuals for small groups of founders. I run these occasionally through Ascend. The format is a full day: morning session, shared lunch, afternoon deep dive, dinner. 8–12 people maximum. These don't get promoted publicly. The way in is through relationships, or through the Ascend network.
Format: Full-day private session. Frequency: Occasional. Cost: $200–$600. Access: by invitation.
What makes Connect & Co-Create different
I started hosting events in Bali because I couldn't find what I was looking for. Events that were curated, not just open. Rooms that were safe to be honest in. Conversations that moved past "what do you do" into what you're actually building and why.
The things I've seen happen in these rooms are not things I could manufacture. Partnerships formed over dinner that turned into six-figure projects. Coaches who found their first high-ticket client sitting across the table from them. Founders who had been isolated for months realising they'd found their people.
That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of curation. We don't take everyone. We think carefully about who belongs in each room, and why.
How to get into the right rooms
The rooms that move the needle in Bali are not on Eventbrite. They're invitation-only, referral-based, or require an application. Here's the honest path to getting access:
- ✦Start with the accessible events. Attend one or two open events when you arrive. Be genuinely curious. Don't sell.
- ✦Build one or two real relationships. Those relationships will introduce you to the next layer. The Bali network is small and well-connected, one warm introduction opens more doors than ten cold ones.
- ✦Apply for curated communities. For Ascend, that means filling out an application and having a conversation. If it's right for both sides, you'll know quickly.
- ✦Show up as who you actually are. Bali has a very good filter for people who are performing. The founders who integrate quickly are the ones who lead with honesty, not with a pitch.
If you're serious about being in the right rooms in Bali, the first step is applying for Connect & Co-Create. Come to one event. See if it feels like your people.
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