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Govt helps MSMEs tap Chinese markets through special e-commerce platform
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Easy shopping: A toy shopping cart sits on a laptop keyboard to illustrate e-commerce. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he government seeks to promote products of Indonesian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan through a newly launched e-commerce platform.
The Trade Ministry officially opened Indonesia Store (IDNStore) on Thursday, although the platform has been running since November last year.
“We can report that, since [we started] operating in November 2020, more than 1,000 businesses have joined the platform, and there have been transactions between Indonesian and Hong Kong businesses,” Kasan Muhri, the director-general of national export development at the ministry, told reporters in an online briefing on Thursday.
The launch comes at a time when the Indonesian government is trying to boost exports from small businesses. Small businesses account for only 14 percent of the country’s total exports. In contrast, the businesses account for more than 60 percent of the country’s economic output.
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The platform, which is available in Chinese, facilitates not only business-to-consumer transactions but also business-to-business transactions. It showcases small businesses’ products, including from the agriculture, marine, automotive, clothing, craft, home decoration, health and beauty as well as food and beverage industries, according to the ministry.
MSMEs, which employ the majority of the national labor force, have been hit hard by the pandemic, as slowing economic activity has slashed their revenue.
