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Women-led MSMEs inherit the true spirit of Kartini Day
More than a century has passed since Raden Ajeng Kartini made her mark on history as one of the first Indonesian female figures to advocate for gender equality.
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Yaniar Fernanda, founder and marketing director Dekayu. (Photo: Tokopedia)
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ore than a century has passed since Raden Ajeng Kartini made her mark on history as one of the first Indonesian female figures to advocate for gender equality. While her legacy is celebrated annually on Kartini Day, other influential early women’s rights activists have also launched their own movements in the fields of education and politics.
But as Indonesia moves towards digitalization, there is a shift in how women strive for emancipation. This year’s economic recovery is also supported by women-led MSMEs who have been exploring online avenues to expand the scope of their businesses. These MSMEs often collaborate with craftswomen or homemakers to increase their competitiveness together.
Yaniar Fernanda, also known affectionately as Nia, is the owner of Dekayu in Yogyakarta. Her company empowers housewives who are also woodwork artisans in Gemawang Hamlet, Putat Village, Gunungkidul. Together, they produce wooden tableware and home decor from teak and other natural fibers.
“In Ramadan 2021, our transactions increased four times, if not more, since joining Tokopedia. For Ramadan this year, we have to maximize sales and we’ve prepared product stock and participated in various programs like Home Living SALEbrations and Ramadan Parcels,” Nia explained.
“Diet Special Needs food uses ingredients that are processed without flour, sugar, milk and their derivatives, seafood and other allergens so they can be consumed by special needs children as well as people with diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, Alzheimer’s, sensitive skin or other allergies.” said the Founder of Diet Special Needs, Difansa Rachmani. Like Nia, her business benefits greatly from Tokopedia’s advertising feature TopAds.
The owners of Dekayu and Diet Special Needs are examples of modern Kartini who drive the MSME scene. According to Tokopedia internal data, the number of female MSME owners on the platform increased 2.5 times in 2021 compared to 2020. Pekanbaru, Palembang, Pekalongan, Denpasar and Balikpapan are the cities with the highest increase in the number of women-led MSMEs in 2021.
But women-led MSMEs and female business players aren’t the only ones seeing a greater opportunity compared to their forerunners generations ago. Now, female digital talents and other aspiring game changers are seeing a change in their working environment.
The Tokopedia office, for example, supports working mothers with special nursery rooms and playrooms for children. The company also offers maternity leave and paternity leave to let them enjoy their role as parents to the fullest. The Tokopedia Care building is also disability-friendly with walkways, vertical platform lifts, handrails in restrooms and prayer rooms designed for the disabled.
“Anyone with passion for technology -- whether women, men, parents, people with disabilities -- has the same opportunity to work for Indonesia by joining Tokopedia. Today, there are more than 6,000 Nakama (Tokopedia employees) on the journey with us and they all come from various backgrounds,” said vice president of seller experience Tokopedia, Puput Hidayat.
