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ublicly listed information technology firm Anabatic Technologies (ATIC) is striving to get 10,000 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) onto its e-commerce platform within the next three years through a collaboration with global internet giant Alibaba.com.

Anabatic’s subsidiary, Emporia Digital Raya, signed a collaboration agreement with Alibaba.com in March, paving the way for local SMEs and start-ups to market their products to international customers through Alibaba.com’s global network.

Nearly five months since the launch, only 33 companies have signed in to Emporia’s digital platform with a minimum registration fee of Rp 27 million (US$2,057). However, Anabatic is optimistic that it will see rapid growth in years to come amid the hype of e-commerce.

“We expect to gain at least 10,000 customers within three years. The problem is we have to educate people on the significance of e-commerce in this digital era. Actually, the registration fee is not that high compared to rent for tenants in shopping malls,” Anabatic president director Handojo Sutjipto.

The company, which saw its net profit increase 36 percent in the first half to Rp 29.6 billion year-on-year (yoy), plans to hold intensive seminars on e-commerce in the near future to persuade more people to join the platform. It has also allocated Rp 50 billion in capital expenditure (capex) this year, mostly to build its 1.2-hectare employee dormitory, Griya Anabatic, in Gading Serpong, South Tangerang.

SMEs contribute 59 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and account for 97 percent of jobs, according to a 2013 study by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). The government wants them to enjoy more growth and cost-efficient business through an online presence.

However, spending on information and communications technology (ICT) by Indonesian SMEs is estimated to total $1.5 billion this year, compared to projected overall Indonesian ICT expenditure of $29.5 billion, according to data from International Data Corporation (IDC).

Alibaba Group, which runs the world’s largest online business-to-business trading platform for SMEs and founded by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, is keen on tapping the huge opportunity in Indonesia’s rapidly growing e-commerce market, in which 30 percent of the country’s population or 82 million people, use the internet.

Indonesia’s e-commerce market was estimated at Rp 18 trillion last year, with at least 37 million consumers nationwide, according to World Economic Outlook data compiled by the Internet Service Providers Association. The association also predicted that the e-commerce market would reach Rp 25 trillion, with 49 million consumers this year.

“Our experience in providing trading assistance and consultation for SMEs and start-ups in other countries will hopefully be a good and enriching reference for the business owners in Indonesia so that, they too, can become more competitive in a wider and expanded market,” said Alibaba head of global business development Timothy Leung in a press release in late March.

In May, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed a presidential regulation allowing foreign investors to own 100 percent of ecommerce businesses valued at Rp 100 billion or more. For businesses value at less than that, foreign investors can hold up to 49 percent. (vps)