TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
#BangkitBersama Makes its Way to Surabaya, Empowering Local MSMEs
Change Size
(Courtesy of Tokopedia)
A
fter the national launch of the #BangkitBersama (#RiseTogether) campaign in September, homegrown tech giant GoTo has now launched the program in Surabaya to help local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) rise again from the pandemic-induced slump and propel their products to prominence in the domestic market.
“MSMEs, as the backbone of the Indonesian economy, must be able to adapt and create opportunities as hosts in their own country, especially in the midst of intense competition,” said Tokopedia cofounder and vice chairman Leontinus A. Edison.
The targeted campaign in the provincial capital of East Java is based on a holistic approach to establish a harmonious, mutually beneficial relationship that combines the strengths of the three key pillars in the GoTo ecosystem: MSMEs, consumers and driver partners. With and without technology, the aim is to encourage MSMEs to adapt and grow through GoTo’s programs as a means of restoring consumer buying power, all the while keeping merchants and drivers productive, healthy, and safe.
The movement has the support of Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi.
“Economic recovery is currently one of the focuses of the Surabaya city administration, but it requires cross-sector involvement and cooperation as well as innovation” for a quick recovery process, Eri said.
“Cross-sector collaboration plays an important role in accelerating post-pandemic economic recovery. We are therefore grateful for GoTo's support with its #BangkitBersama program in Surabaya,” he added.
One way GoTo is supporting MSMEs in Surabaya is through Gojek’s GoFood marketing and promotion programs, which were launched at the end of October for members of the Surabaya Culinary Tourism Center. The program has enabled GoFood partners to book a 28 percent increase in overall transactions.
Tokopedia, the other half of the GoTo ecosystem, is supporting Surabaya’s MSMEs through Jatim Fair 2021, an online-offline hybrid event that successfully boosted transactions of participating MSMEs by up to 13 times their previous figures.
Gojek chief food officer Catherine Hindra Sutjahyo noted the importance of the culinary culture to the area.
“Surabaya is known as a culinary destination because of the many home-based culinary businesses that are well known in other cities,” said Catherine.
“Moreover, our data also reveal that members of the Surabaya GoFood Partner Community (Kompag Surabaya) are reaching more than 5,000 MSMEs in the city, which has the third largest member base after Jakarta and Bandung,” she added.
Food and beverage businesses are not the only ones that have been buoyed by the GoTo campaign, with the movement also substantially benefiting small businesses in other sectors, including handicrafts.
Leather clothing and apparel maker Verne Indonesia is a high-quality leather business founded in 2011 that joined Tokopedia in 2017. Verne Indonesia is dedicated to creating products with high craftsmanship that are not only valued by its customers but also add value as luxury Indonesian products.
Verne Indonesia’s success story illustrates how technological innovation can be a boon for local MSMEs.
Its products are made by skilled local leather craftspeople, and almost all sales of Verne Indonesia products come via Tokopedia. The company has recorded a nearly twofold year-on-year increase in transaction volume in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the previous year.
GoTo is also collaborating with the Surabaya Trade Office in providing the upcoming Kelas Maju Digital Pemula (digital progress class for beginners) for MSMEs. The skills development workshop is slated to be held on Nov. 11 and 19 to help small businesses improve their capacity and competitiveness. Thousands of MSME entrepreneurs are expected to attend the workshop with assistance from the Surabaya administration.
With GoTo Financial, an upskilling program on financial management that is supported by the East Java Financial Services Authority, GoTo is boosting financial literacy among Surabaya’s MSMEs while encourage their digital transformation by onboarding with GoFood and Tokopedia.
One of the very first initiatives of the #BangkitBersama program is the Hyperlocal initiative, which help bridge local consumers and MSMEs through the use of geotagging technology. Another is TokoCabang, which helps local businesses scale up sales transactions by joining the GoTo ecosystem.
Responding to MSMEs’ limited digital resources and knowledge, GoTo also provides a holistic MSME community empowerment program that includes facilities such as the Gojek Business Partner Academy (KAMUS), the Tokopedia Family (K-Top), the National Digital Advancement Conference and the GoTo MSME Center.
Winny Triswandhani, GoTo Financial’s head of corporate communications, urges business owners to leverage Moka, offering the most complete offline-to-online (O2O) solution for MSMEs to improve operational efficiency.
“In the midst of ongoing economic recovery, MSMEs need to continue adapting to the pandemic through various channels, one of which is the O2O solution,” she said.
“In Surabaya, GoTo Financial’s MSME merchants grew 138 percent compared to the [previous year]. With the #BangkitBersama movement, we hope the GoTo ecosystem will help Surabaya MSMEs become more profitable.”
“Through the various Hyperlocal initiatives and collaborations with the Surabaya administration through #BangkitBersama activities, GoTo hopes to offer a comprehensive solution for local MSMEs, consumers, driver partners and the community while encouraging regional and national economic recovery affected by the pandemic,” said Leontinus of Tokopedia, adding that “Indonesia can prosper” on the back of its MSMEs’ successes.
GoTo has been a committed partner in the nation’s Covid-19 response by facilitating the vaccination of 400,000 Gojek drivers in 75 districts and cities across the country. The company also contributed by establishing the Gotong Royong Oxygen House in Jakarta and donating 600 oxygen concentrators to 53 districts and cities.
