Starting from a local level, the holistic initiative involves MSMEs, consumers and driver partners to create a mutually beneficial relationship within the ecosystem. GoTo has become the prime choice for MSMEs seeking to undertake the digital shift, with more than 4 million new MSMEs having joined Tokopedia during the course of the pandemic. In total, 86 percent of Tokopedia’s 11 million sellers are first-time business owners.

The campaign is founded from the fact that MSMEs are the backbone of the Indonesian economy, which must compete with global brands vying for the choices of Indonesian consumers. At the same time, the pandemic has deeply affected MSMEs, especially those in the culinary sector (43.09 percent), services (26.02 percent) and fashion (13.01 percent), according to a 2020 research by SMESCO.

#BangkitBersama is supported by the Trade Ministry, the Cooperatives and MSME Ministry, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and regional governments.

The GoTo UMKM Center and #BangkitBersama was inaugurated in Solo Technopark, Surakarta, Central Java, by OJK board of commissioners chairman Wimboh Santoso, Cooperatives and MSME Ministry deputy of entrepreneurship Siti Azizah, Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, GoTo Group and GoTo FInancial CEO Andre Soelistyo, Tokopedia CEO and founder William Tanuwijaya, GoTo president commissioner Garibaldi Thohir and GoTo commissioner Wishnutama Kusubandio.

In a statement, GoTo Group and GoTo Financial CEO Andre said that with the spirit of collaboration and resilience, GoTo aimed to contribute to the economic recovery.

“We’ve seen that digitalization plays an important role in bridging offline businesses shut down by the pandemic so that they can continue to survive. GoTo is committed to continuing to contribute so that MSMEs can maintain their businesses by supporting their operations and management,” he said, adding that the #BangkitBersama initiative would focus on regional areas to reach more MSMEs.

. (Courtesy of Tokopedia/.)

Meanwhile, Tokopedia CEO and founder William observed that during the pandemic, MSMEs had the resilience and bravery to go digital.

“On the other hand, these MSMEs have had to deal with foreign brands as well as the pandemic. At GoTo, we have a large responsibility to always be present so we can rise together,” he said.

According to William, GoTo utilizes a hyperlocal approach to build relations between local businesses and consumers so that more business owners can go digital.

“Our business is based on conscience, so our strategy at GoTo is optimizing what’s best for our partners and MSMEs. We believe that by providing the very best for our partners, business will also grow side-by-side,” he said.

The six main initiatives of #BangkitBersama are increasing MSME exposure through a hyperlocal approach and geo-tagging technology, empowering MSMEs to support job creation, supporting the health and safety of driver-partners, increasing business scale through TokoCabang, CSR initiatives to give back to the community and supporting the government’s handling of COVID-19 in the return to normalcy.

#BangkitBersama’s initial phase will start in Surakarta; the Greater Jakarta area; Bandung, West Java; Medan, North Sumatra; Semarang, Central Java; and Surabaya, East Java; with plans to expand throughout the archipelago.

The launch of #BangkitBersama in Surakarta was followed by the signing of the “Kampus UMKM Bersama” inscription at the GoTo UMKM Center, Solo Technopark between the OJK and GoTo. The inscription marks both parties’ commitment to uplift up-and-coming MSMEs through financial literacy and upskilling.

Kampus UMKM Bersama is a collaboration between OJK, startups, the financial services industry, relevant stakeholders, as well as state and private universities to provide end-to-end training for certain MSME groups. As OJK’s first partner in the program, GoTo is targeting MSMEs focused on regional specialties, such as batik merchants for the Surakarta campus.

Andre said that as part of GoTo, GoTo Financial’s mission is to increase financial inclusion through payment and financial services as well as business solutions in the digital economy ecosystem.

“We appreciate the OJK’s support for the collaboration in holistic training for local MSMEs. We believe that this will accelerate the financial digitalization of MSMEs, increasing their competitiveness and contributing to national and regional economic development,” he said.

OJK board of commissioners chairman Wimboh said that Indonesia had a lot of room to grow compared with other countries, thanks to its large population, who can benefit from financial literacy and technological support.

“We at the OJK are aware of this fact, so we aim to oversee, not limit. We also strive to bring technology to MSMEs, which we must guide and educate. Thank you to GoTo and its ecosystem for their efforts in bringing MSMEs into the digital ecosystem,” he said.