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s COVID-19 hits business activity and forces people to stay at home, small businesses are striving to make the most of online platforms to reach customers and gain revenue.

Astrid Safiera, 24, had to find a way to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic as her husband’s restaurant in Menteng, Central Jakarta, closed, battered by the physical distancing measures put in place to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Astrid, an office worker herself, decided to start a small business with her husband to sell seafood via social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, offering shrimp, crab and barramundi, among other products, with a starting price of Rp 30,000 (US$1.93).

She even promoted the business by replying to a tweet by former maritime affairs and fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti, which caught the attention of more than a hundred people who liked her tweet.

“We already know several suppliers, including a fish auctioneer who buys fish straight from the fishermen in North Jakarta. We order [the fish from the auctioneer] according to customer orders,” Astrid told The Jakarta Post recently.

She delivers the orders with the help of ride-hailing apps Gojek and Grab to customers in Greater Jakarta. The response to the one-month-old business has been positive so far, as they manage to sell an average of 20 kilograms of seafood weekly, from which Astrid has been able to reap Rp 25 million in sales.

“We plan to continue running the business after the pandemic. We want to open a restaurant, so we’re just trying to build something while also marketing our future restaurant,” Astrid said, adding that she would consider partnering with e-commerce platforms in the future.

Astrid is not an outlier. Many people have resorted to running small businesses from home and use social media and e-commerce platforms to sell their products. Two million workers have been furloughed or laid off as of April 20, according to Manpower Ministry data.

Data from e-commerce platform Tokopedia confirmed a 250 percent surge in the number of new sellers on its platform in March, particularly in the personal health category.

“We’re also doing a campaign on #JagaEkonomiIndonesia [#GuardIndonesianEconomy] to push more people to dare to create opportunities online, so that the economy can still go on in the middle of the pandemic,” Tokopedia VP of corporate communication Nuraini Razak said.

Tokopedia said it would help first-time sellers on its platform by holding online classes and webinars on the e-commerce business, among other things. The online classes cover subjects like opening an online shop, tips on handling the first order, the profit from e-commerce and making attractive promotional campaigns.

The change in customer behavior during the pandemic, with physical distancing measures in place, has supported the growth of e-commerce, with business research firm Inventure Indonesia concluding that customers tended to purchase their daily necessities, such as groceries and health products, via online platforms. This would be a significant boost for online platforms, it said.

Another e-commerce platform, Blibli.com, confirmed there had been a surge in the number of sellers, although it did not disclose the figures. Blibli.com chief executive officer Kusumo Martanto said he expected more micro, small and medium enterprises to use e-commerce platforms after the pandemic.

“The situation will force them to adopt e-commerce. Hopefully after the pandemic they will enjoy the value and benefits and there will be more [sellers joining],” he said.

Blibli.com has also started initiatives for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), such as providing a special channel, workshops and promotion for local SMEs, among other things, he added.