INDONESIA STRIVES TO EXPAND COVERAGE OF DIGITALIZATION OF MSMES by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 16/9/2022 (ANTARA) - Indonesia has over 65 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) capable of producing competitive products, though several of them had yet to integrate into the digital ecosystem to promote their products domestically and overseas.

They account for 99.9 percent of the business population and 61.07 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP), or Rp8,573.9 trillion .

Eager to reduce imports, the Indonesian government has been striving to expand the coverage of digitalization of MSMEs, which is one of the strongest pillars of the Indonesian economy.

The government is targeting 30 million MSMEs to enter the digital market by 2024, including 19.5 million MSMEs in 2022, according to Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki.

At least 19 million MSMEs have so far succeeded in going digital and expanding their market, while 11 million other MSMEs are lining up to adopt digitalization.

Aspiring to become the largest digital economy, with potential reaching Rp4,500 trillion in Southeast Asia by 2030, the government has accelerated economic digitalization transformation by involving various relevant stakeholders.

The digitalization effort also involves the digitization of MSMEs under various national initiatives, such as the Proudly Made in Indonesia National Movement and the Proud Indonesian Traveling National Movement.

Minister Masduki has urged internet marketers to MSMEs to enter the digital ecosystem, as many of the MSMEs are not familiar with digital technology.

To reduce imports and promote domestic products, internet marketers could seek what the people need, such as creating technology application to facilitate marketing, Masduki stated during the Indonesia Digital MeetUp 2022 recently.

"I call for help for our MSMEs to enter the online market because 50 percent of the products sold in e-commerce are still imported products," he noted.

PIDI 4.0: A ONE-STOP SOLUTION FOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION By Fardah

Jakarta, 31/12 / 2021 (ANTARA) - With 196.7 million Internet users, Indonesia is currently accelerating the digital transformation process, especially in the economic field.

In the current digital era, the Internet has triggered the Fourth Industrial Revolution, marked by the development of the digital economy globally, among others.

"Digitalization is a means to push for the transformation to a new economy with added value and better competitiveness," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, once said.

Digital technology has opened up the possibility of greater collaboration among economic stakeholders for expediting trade, creating jobs, and improving access to public services, he noted.

"This momentum must be used to push the digital transformation process," he stressed.

The value of the digital economy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has crossed US$100 billion, he noted. It is predicted to grow threefold by 2025 to more than US$300 billion, the minister said.

The largest contributor to the ASEAN digital economy has been e-commerce, followed by transportation and food delivery, online media, and travel, he said. Healthtech and edutech have also grown into promising sectors, he added.

Indonesia's digital economy is currently valued at US$44 billion, making it the largest in ASEAN, he pointed out. This figure is predicted to grow eightfold by 2030, according to Hartarto, who is also the chairman of the Golkar Party.

Most of the value of the digital economy has been contributed by e-commerce transactions, which are estimated to increase to US$32 billion by 2025, reflecting a growth of 54 percent, the minister said.

 

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION HELPING MSMES NAVIGATE COVID CRISIS By Fardah

 Jakarta, 23/12/2021 (ANTARA) - The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions in the global economy, particularly at the beginning of the outbreak, which forced economic activities, including shipping, supply, and production, to come to a standstill.

The Indonesian economy was also battered by the pandemic, which left micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the countrys economic backbone, struggling for survival.

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, MSMEs accounted for 60 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) and employed around 97 percent of its workforce.

The pandemic's impact on MSMEs included sales declines, product distribution halts, marketing problems, and capital and raw material shortages.

To keep MSMEs afloat, the government decided to intervene and prepared long- and short-term strategies such as tax incentives, credit relaxation and restructuring, working capital financing, and digital transformation training, among others.

Digital transformation is key for ensuring MSMEs can survive and thrive post-COVID-19, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

"The role of digital technology is paramount for MSMEs as the pandemic has hastened the transition to a digital economy," she said at a Google for Indonesia event on December 2, 2021.

Entrepreneurs could utilize digital technology to enhance product quality, access new capital opportunities, and expand market reach, she pointed out.

The government has established cooperation with various stakeholders, including the private sector, to ramp up MSME recovery and growth by supporting their access to digital technology, the minister noted.

The government has also collaborated with technology company Google, whose digital literacy class has covered more than two million MSMEs, she said.

Indrawati lauded Google's collaboration with international non-profit organization KIVA to cooperate with local partners to distribute low-interest business loans with a total value of US$10 million.

MSME digitization necessary to support Indonesia's economic recovery by Fardah

 Jakarta, June 3, 2021 (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s 64.2 million micro, small, and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) have contributed Rp8,573.89 trillion, or 61.07 percent, to its GDP (gross domestic product) as of March, 2021, as per data from the Cooperatives and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministry.

MSMEs absorb 97 percent of the national work force, account for 60.4 percent of the total investment, and contribute 14.37 percent to export growth, data has shown.

Given their contribution, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has called MSMEs critical pillars of the Indonesian economy.

National Development Planning Minister/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) head Suharso Monoarfa, however, wants MSMEs to play a broader role in boosting Indonesia’s economy.

"Some 99 percent of the businesses in Indonesia are dominated by MSMEs, which absorb 97 percent of the total number of workers, but MSMEs only contribute 57 percent to the national GDP," Monoarfa stated on May 26, 2021.

Despite various MSME development programs being conducted by ministries and state institutions, the results have yet to be optimal, he observed.

The minister drew attention to an evaluation of MSME programs from January, 2020 that pointed to moral hazards existing in the capital grants offered by ministries and state institutions to MSMEs.

"This is since it (a grant) does not have to be returned and utilized for non-business related purposes," he explained.

The National Development Planning Ministry/Bappenas, the Ministry of Finance, the SME and Cooperatives Ministry, and other concerned ministries and institutions will evaluate MSME development programs as a basis for budget allocation in 2022, he said.

He suggested that the role of the SME and Cooperatives Ministry, as the coordinator of the MSME development programs, be bolstered. Companies partnering with MSMEs should receive incentives, he added.

 Indeed, a great number of MSMEs in Indonesia are still facing several challenges.

"MAKING INDONESIA 4.0" ROADMAP TO BE HIGHLIGHTED IN HANNOVER MESSE By Fardah

Selasa, 15 Okt 2019 14:44

Daerah : Jakarta

Jakarta, 15/10 , 2019(Antara) - Hannover Messe 2020, the world's top industrial technology tradeshow, will give center stage to its partner nation, Indonesia, to chiefly portray its vast economic potentials and particularly the Making Indonesia 4.0" roadmap to draw investment.
Indonesia is well-known among many as a tourist destination, especially Bali, Flores, and Borobudur, and an agreeable location for holidaying.
However, not many are aware of the fact that Indonesia is a member of G20, one of the largest manufacturing economies in Asia and, by far, the largest economy within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The archipelagic nation also harbors aspirations of ranking among the top 10 economies globally by 2030.
"We are way beyond just a tourist destination. We, as a nation, are a large economy," Indonesian Ambassador to Germany Arif Havas Oegroseno told the media in Berlin in September 2019.
The ambassador believes that the true potential of Indonesia's economy is yet to be fully understood and grasped by the German public. Indonesia will have a huge opportunity to seize the relocation of industries.
Indonesia is also upbeat about bolstering its national brand to draw more foreign investors and establishing cooperation in the industrial sector.
After 1995, Indonesia has been re-selected as the official partner country of Hannover Messe. As an official partner country, Indonesia will occupy a 1,300-square-meter central pavilion and several thematic satellite pavilions.
In the presence of German Economic Minister Peter Altmaier, the Partner Country contract was inked in Jakarta on Nov 1, 2018, by Ngakan Timur Antara, acting director general of Industrial Resilience and International Access Development, Indonesias Ministry of Industry, and Dr Jochen Kckler, chief executive officer of Deutsche Messe AG.
Dr Jochen Kocler pointed to Indonesia's proposal to be the official partner country of Hannover Messe being well-received by the Deutch Messe and German Government.

INDONESIA ENCOURAGES GROWTH OF DIGITAL ECONOMY by Fardah

 Jakarta, Feb 5, 2018 (Antara) - The internet has triggered the Fourth Industrial Revolution, marked by the development of digital economy globally, among others.

        Digital economy functions primarily by means of digital technology, especially internet-based electronic transactions.

        Digital economy permeates all aspects of society, including the way people interact, the economic landscape, the skills required to secure a good job, and also political decision-making.    
  Globally, digital economy contributes 22 percent to the economy, while digital technology applications are set to contribute US$2 trillion to the global gross domestic product by 2020.

        In Southeast Asia, the value of online trade is estimated to reach $88 billion during the period between 2015 and 2025 for various apparel, electronic, household, and food products.

       With the world's fourth-largest population and a large number of internet users, Indonesia has the potential to become the biggest digital economy in Southeast Asia, both in terms of the manufacturing and retail industries.

        This aspect was highlighted by Google and Temasek, foreign investors in Indonesia, through a study on digital economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to an article by the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

        Based on the study, Indonesia has witnessed a 19 percent annual increase in the number of internet users, with this figure possibly reaching 215 million before 2020.

        Apart from a high growth in the number of internet users, Indonesia has also experienced a significant growth in the online market or e-commerce. Currently, the percentage of e-commerce transactions in Indonesia is high, reaching about 36 percent and is estimated to reach $81 billion before 2025.