The Jakarta Post
The COVID-19 pandemic has opened up an unexpected opportunity in digitalization as more local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) go online than before, but the lack of internet infrastructure in parts of Indonesia has made it difficult for some businesses to bounce back. That was the summary of a Jakpost UpClose webinar on Thursday, titled “Report launch: COVID-19’s impact on Indonesian MSMEs”. The report was the result of a joint study by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the University of Indonesia’s (UI) Faculty of Economics and Business Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM FEB UI). The study covered 1,180 MSMEs across 15 provinces of Indonesia and was conducted using in-depth interviews and focus-group discussion techniques. The study found that more than 45 percent of MSMEs surveyed had problems obtaining raw materia...