Jakarta - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) continues to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium industrial enterprises (SMIs), including footwear industrial clusters that are facing challenges arising from global economic dynamics and shifting market behavior.

Through the Directorate General of Small, Medium, and Miscellaneous Industries (Ditjen IKMA), the Ministry has implemented a range of policies, facilitation programs, as well as training and mentoring initiatives for SMI clusters that require capacity building in order to compete in both domestic and global markets.

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita noted that, in general, SMI clusters still face a number of structural challenges.

“Challenges commonly faced by SMI clusters include limited access to financing and markets, low levels of business and financial management literacy, as well as a lack of product innovation. At the same time, SMI clusters are also confronted with rapidly changing market trends and increasing competition from imported products,” the Minister said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday (05/01/2026).

One such example is the condition of the Ciomas footwear SMI cluster in Bogor Regency, which was visited by Director General of Small, Medium, and Miscellaneous Industries (IKMA) Reni Yanita in September 2025. Based on discussions with local artisans, changes in consumer behavior following the Covid-19 pandemic have significantly affected business performance within the cluster.

In addition, the issue of artisan regeneration has become a serious concern.

“Most artisans in the Ciomas footwear SMI cluster belong to the senior generation and have not fully acquired new knowledge and skills. Therefore, the involvement of younger generations who are more adaptive to market dynamics and technological developments is essential,” Reni explained.

Nevertheless, the footwear industry holds substantial potential for continued growth and for making a significant contribution to the national economy. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), processed by the Ministry of Industry, show that the footwear and leather industries grew by 8.31 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, and by 0.72 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of 2025. Investment in the footwear industry also reached more than IDR 18 trillion during the January–September 2025 period.

“Indonesia’s footwear export performance has also demonstrated a positive trend, recording growth of 11.89 percent from January to August 2025, placing Indonesia sixth globally among footwear-exporting countries,” Reni added.

According to her, these achievements cannot be separated from the role of footwear SMI clusters, which encompass a large number of business actors. However, further strengthening efforts are still required to ensure that SMI clusters can operate optimally and sustainably.

As a concrete step, Ditjen IKMA, in collaboration with the Directorate of Chemical, Textile, and Handicraft SMIs (IKM KSK), the Indonesian Footwear Industry Development Center (BPIPI), and the Bogor Regency Office of Trade and Industry, has carried out a series of programs aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of artisans in the Ciomas footwear SMI cluster.

Director of Chemical, Textile, and Handicraft SMIs, Budi Setiawan, stated that toward the end of 2025, three main capacity-building activities were implemented, namely digital literacy enhancement, technical guidance, and mentoring by university-based experts. The program was attended by 14 artisan representatives from the Ciomas footwear SMI cluster.

“This initiative aims to familiarize artisans with digital marketing, improve their understanding of current footwear design and pattern trends to encourage product innovation, and enable them to manage their businesses more efficiently through mentor assistance,” Budi said.

The capacity-building series began with the Growth and Development of New Entrepreneurs Program for Chemical, Textile, and Handicraft SMIs in West Java on December 12, 2025. The event was attended by 14 artisans from the Ciomas footwear SMI cluster, along with 56 other chemical, textile, and handicraft SMIs from Bogor City and Bogor Regency.

The materials covered digital marketing strategies, marketplace selling strategies, and product photography practices, delivered by speakers from Prasetiya Mulya University, Shopee Indonesia, and Ciputra University Jakarta.

The artisans then participated in technical guidance on footwear design and pattern-making held on December 15–17, 2025, with resource persons from BPIPI. The program was subsequently continued with mentoring by experts from Prasetiya Mulya University through 2026 for selected participants.

“We hope that the outcomes of this capacity-building program will serve as essential capital for artisans not only to survive, but also to strengthen their internal business conditions, better understand business needs, and determine strategic steps to expand their enterprises and respond to market dynamics,” Budi explained.

Going forward, Budi encouraged artisans to take advantage of various government support programs, ranging from financing facilities such as the People’s Business Credit (KUR) and Labor-Intensive Industry Credit (KIPK), technical consultation services with BPIPI, to the Machinery and Equipment Restructuring Program for SMIs aimed at machinery rejuvenation and increased production capacity.