At least 19.5 million micro, small, and medium enterprise (UMKM) players have joined the digital ecosystem as of June 2022, Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki has said.

The number is expected to continue to grow as the Indonesian government is targeting to bring 30 million MSMEs into the digital ecosystem by 2024.

In a virtual speech at a G20 side event on ‘B20 Indonesia Digital Economy to Support SDGs’ here on Monday, Masduki said that his ministry has readied several digital transformation programs involving all relevant stakeholders to accelerate the entry of MSMEs into the digital ecosystem.

The acceleration programs cover complete data collection on MSMEs, provision of facilities for MSMEs to take care of their business legality and obtain company registration numbers, training and guidance for MSME players, and business incubation at universities.

In addition, the ministry is also holding business matching on various occasions, including on the sidelines of G20 events, and utilizing the ASEAN Access platform.

He said that his ministry is targeting to digitally “onboard” one million MSMEs related to the procurement of government goods and services immediately.

He further explained that the COVID-19 pandemic is the reason that the government is trying to accelerate the digital transformation of the MSME sector.

“When the pandemic hit all of us, the adaptability of MSMEs to digital transformation during the pandemic proved to be a key factor in MSME resilience in Indonesia,” he pointed out.

Not only that, a World Bank study has also shown that 80 percent of MSMEs that have entered the digital ecosystem have shown better resilience amid the pandemic.

He informed that currently, 86 percent of MSME actors depend on an Internet connection to run their business, while 73 percent of MSME players already have a digital marketplace (e-commerce) account, and 82 percent of them are promoting their products in cyberspace.

According to him, digital transformation in the MSME sector is a necessity.

“The increase in the number of MSMEs who have done digital transformation is the foundation for Indonesia to optimize the potential of the digital economy,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News