The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) continues to be committed to encouraging the capacity building of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as one of the strategies of the Prosperity pillar in the 2045 Golden Indonesia Roadmap. This is demonstrated through Kadin Indonesia's collaboration with the Surakarta City Chamber of Commerce, the Indonesian Internet Domain Name Manager (PANDI), and the digital learning and talent platform, eduCLaaS, which held “UMKM Go Digital!” activities on May 31 and June 1, 2024 at Omah Sinten, Surakarta.

This initiative aims to accelerate the digitalization of Indonesian MSMEs, especially in the Greater Solo area, so that they can upgrade and compete globally.

Vice Chairman of Kadin Indonesia for Communications and Informatics, Firlie H Ganinduto, said that digitalization plays an important role in the development of MSME businesses. Referring to data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, digitalization can save time and operational costs for MSMEs by up to 50%. In addition, MSMEs that are connected to the go digital ecosystem have a 2.5 times greater chance of surviving in the market.

“Digitalization plays a key role in improving the competitiveness of MSMEs in this modern era. With the spirit of increasing the number of MSMEs to go digital, this collaboration between Kadin Indonesia, Kadin Kota Surakarta, and PANDI is expected to accelerate digitalization for MSMEs, especially in Kota Surakarta,” said Firlie.

Based on data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, the number of MSMEs that have gone digital in 2023 is 22.8 million and is targeted to reach 30 million in 2024. For this reason, Kadin Indonesia encourages the achievement of the digitalization target so that national MSMEs can be globally competitive through open access to digital markets.

“We are very enthusiastic about the UMKM Go Digital! initiative. With the support of PANDI and Kadin Surakarta, we believe this event will provide great benefits for MSMEs in Surakarta and surrounding areas,” said Firlie.

Following the success of a similar activity in Yogyakarta in March 2024, UMKM Go Digital! in Surakarta is expected to be attended by 100 MSME players. In this event, the MSMEs involved will receive a .id domain for 1 year for free. This domain can later be utilized by MSMEs that are members of Kadin Indonesia to support digital business practices. The UMKM Go Digital! activity will also be filled with talk shows and workshops on the use of the .id domain and digital marketing strategies.

“Digitalization in MSMEs needs to be supported by an increase in digital literacy. The MSMEs will be trained on website management efforts in accordance with the Digital Literacy campaign from PANDI,” said Firlie.

Chairman of the Surakarta City Chamber of Commerce, Ferry Sephta Indrianto, explained that Surakarta has tremendous MSME potential with around 13,200 MSMEs registered until 2023. “Through this collaboration, we hope to provide a significant impetus for MSMEs in Surakarta and Solo Raya to transform digitally, so that they can grow and compete in a wider market,” he added.

Meanwhile, PANDI Chairman, John Sihar Simanjuntak hopes that UMKM Go Digital! can strengthen and increase the capacity of MSMEs to face challenges and take advantage of opportunities in the digital era. “PANDI continues to be committed to supporting the digitalization of MSMEs in Indonesia. We really welcome the collaboration with Kadin Indonesia and Kadin Kota Surakarta in order to realize our mission, which is to provide 1 million .id domains during 2024,” he said.

In line with PANDI, CEO of eduClaas, Leslie Loh, said, “Digital transformation is important for MSMEs to face the digital economy. eduCLaaS and Kadin Indonesia work together to provide ‘MSMEs Go Digital!’ training so that MSMEs are able to develop their businesses and compete globally in the digital economy era,” he said.

Data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs shows that the number of MSMEs in Indonesia in 2023 will reach 66 million business units and contribute 61% to the gross domestic product. MSMEs also absorb around 117 million workers or 97% of the total workforce.