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Forging a post-pandemic digital future for Indonesian SMEs
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(The Jakarta Post)
I
ndonesia’s small businesses, which employ the overwhelming majority of the national labor force and contribute around 60 percent to the country’s economy, have been battered by the
COVID-19 crisis, with the economy falling into recession following economic contractions recorded since mid-2020.
Given that micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were the support of Indonesia’s economy in previous crises, the government has attempted to revive the country’s economy starting with SMEs.
The Cooperatives and SME Ministry has established several strategic programs that aims to facilitate SMEs in running their business, from downstream to upstream activities. The Revolving Fund Management Institution (LPDB-KUMKM) distributed in 2020 Rp 2 trillion (US$142.5 million) to SMEs. The Marketing Service Institution (LLP-KUKM), meanwhile, improved its mentoring services, training, exhibition implementation, product curation and trading houses for domestic and export markets.
Adding to that, the ministry has been encouraging SMEs to go online. By the end of 2020, around 10.25 million SMEs had been connected to the digital ecosystem, passing the ministry’s target that year. The ministry has also pushed for the transformation of production technology and initiatives to build joint production houses to make SMEs work more efficient.
In order to support the government’s efforts in reviving SMEs, some major Indonesian start-ups launched various features and promotions to facilitate SMEs in digitalizing their business to survive the pandemic-induced economic downturn.
Gojek Indonesia, for example, announced in mid-2020 that it had facilitated 100,000 MSMEs to digitalize their business. The technology giant introduced a campaign called #MelajuBersamaGojek that provides an ecosystem where SMEs players can find solutions for their business. The initiative is geared to help SMEs go digital at every step of their daily business operation, from marketing, processing orders and payments to shipping and administration.
As many as 94 percent of the SMEs that went digital and joined the Gojek ecosystem amid the pandemic were micro-businesses and 43 percent were first-time business owners.
Jakpost Up Close series on digital future for Indonesian SMEs
Jakpost Up Close, a live talk show/webinar held by The Jakarta Post, will next discuss the topic, “Forging a post-pandemic digital future for Indonesian SMEs”.
The series aims to convene stakeholders in the SMEs sector to talk about innovative ways to revive Indonesia’s economy, which has been significantly hit by the pandemic.
The webinar will:
- discuss initiatives and the progress of programs made by the government and private sectors to revive SMEs after the pandemic;
- elaborate on potential partnerships between the government, private sector and SME players to better support SMEs in the future;
- discuss the best practices and challenges from SMEs players.
The Zoom webinar will be held in Indonesian and take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28. Featured speakers include:
- Leonard Theosabrata, president director of the Cooperatives and SME Ministry’s Marketing Service Institution (LLP-KUKM)
- Bayu Ramadhan, vice president of merchant marketing product for Gojek Indonesia
- Wijy Wijaya, owner of Bakwan Juwarak and GoFood partner
- Monica Christa, CEO of BLP Beauty
Leonard Theosabrata will speak on several topics, such as the government’s strategies and future plans to revive SMEs after the pandemic, efforts in encouraging SMEs to digitize their businesses and challenges in implementing the plans and how to tackle them.
Bayu Ramadhan will discuss initiatives to support SMEs weathering the pandemic, the challenges in implementing the program and future plans to better support SMEs in Indonesia.
Wijy Wijaya will share her insights on how the pandemic has changed businesses and their marketing approach, as well as how brick-and-mortar restaurants and home-based food businesses can strengthen their delivery service through digital platforms.
Monica Christa will discuss how BLP Beauty has digitized its business and tips for SMEs in the non-food sector to embrace digital platforms.
The JakPost webinar is aimed at the general public, SME players, start-ups, academics, university students, private sector employees and leadership, researchers and the international community.
Find out more at the free #JakpostUpClose webinar on Thursday. Click here to register: bit.ly/jp-webinar28
