Sub-District and Strategy Toward Rural MSMEs Go Online

 


As we known that Covid-19 outbreak has shaken to our nation economy including for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector as the backbone of Indonesia’s economy. Based on data from the Cooperatives Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry in 2018 that SMEs turned out the contribution of employment occupied the largest portion about 97%.

It means employees a majority of Indonesia are working to MSMEs sector. Our country has also accounts for the largest number of MSMEs in ASEAN, about 64 million that employ 116,9 million peoples. Nowdays the pandemic severely impacted for them and almost revenues of enterprises are slashed. Many of the businesses are to be creative in order to keep afloat while waiting for the situation to improve.

Furthermore, MSMEs in Indonesia had also contributed to around 57,8%  of Indonesia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Rp 8.573,9 trillion from the Indonesia’s GDP total.  As the largest contributor of national workforce, the MSMEs have to be more attention by government. Therefore amid pandemic under policy its so-called National Economic Recovery program, the government has being spent Rp 641 trillion which including for social safety net and business incentives during the pandemic.

Besides that the learning of the storm at the monetary crisis in 1998 had given some valuable lessons, MSMEs were able to survive and even rised up succeed  at that moment.

Those datas above have showed that MSMEs in Indonesia has an important role for the rise of national economic. In other wise how far the MSMEs reselience in the economic crisis is to be a potencial as well as a key the revival of the national economy. By develop and strengthen of MSMEs are a must if the Indonesia’s economy wan’t to crash on crisis longly.

The era of Industry 4.0 has come up where pendulum of business movement revolution toward digitalization across all business sectors massifly. Its disruptif character which presenting Artificial Intelegence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) have to be anticipated rapidly. In this point, digital literacy is so much important to be understood by grass root economy’s player particularly micro and small business which in rural location.

Many MSMEs don’t understand to use internet and haven’t an email as a basic to having account in online market. There is a gap technology that occurring with many micro and small business players. Almost majority they are x-generation (born between 1965-1980) who not friendly with the using of technology/internet.

According to Teten Masduki as a Minister Cooperative said there were currently around 8 million MSMEs had used online platform to sell their product. Than account of 64 million MSMEs, it is small relative. Meanwhile according to Redseer Southeas Asia, Indonesia’s gross merchandise value will reach US$40 billion on this year, the third-highest in the world. It’s a pretty big pie enough and it is like an ironic if not to be enjoyed by rural business owners or in small towns.

Indonesia has a large geographic, having archipelago characteristic and to do so needs hard effort to socialize. One of the other thing that can be maximilize for those program is to take advantage through sub-district (Kecamatan or it could be also Kelurahan). Namely by involved of sub-district to accelerate digitalization MSMEs’ industries which based on  sub-district’s location respectively. By engange and empowering milenial generation at those town where near to.

The past few years in 2018, government has created a program its called “Gerakan Ayo UMKM” which in partnership with several marketplace platform. The program aims to encourage micro and small businesses tap oppurtunities through online market. But a huge online market isn’t yet to be maximilized by them especially in rural. Moreover a lack of understanding of technology and internet one of the main challenges which faced by MSMEs in Indonesia.

Government could bridge to build “MSMEs Digital Corner” space include skilfull human resource to facilitate each MSMEs in sub-district.  Such as to transform and thrive their businesses go to online. Obtaining in marketplace and to create website collectively based on regional that intergrated system.

It is like millenial team of digitalization project consist of two or three young peoples which to develop and serve anyone whose home industries or business sort on the rural. Which guidence step by step, shifted from offline to online and MSMEs can be able to come to the sub-distirict’s office. The space can just take located at a little room on the sub-district’s office. Where small business or home industry owner can visit anytime and consulting about how to transform dan obtain customers through the online market. Opening product selling in several marketplace or even to make a social media account.

In my experience I saw that many Kecamatan just took promote several product from MSMEs in their small space by exhibition at storefront or something like that in their office corner. They don’t provide yet a team/people to educate MSMEs’s product how to go to online. Even must be held  training  intensively and to lead them knowing about e-commerce field, anything what they need to adapt industry 4.0 era must be done. Sub-District’s office which isn’t only to carry out public administration but available to aid dan support merchants of micro and small business taking off to online market.

Small team with e-commerce knowledge skillfully in each sub-district is a simple strategic step can take by local government. May be it isn’t a tackling ways in surmounting barriers for e-commerce literacy across in Indonesia but it’s one of the others way to optimize local government taking the role, the providing of acceleration access to digitally market transform for MSMEs.


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