Labuan Bajo, July 21st 2022─The Center for Digital Society or CfDS UGM as a study center that focuses on digital technology issues has also enlivened the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) in the 2022 G20 Indonesia Presidency series. On Thursday (21/7), CfDS with the support of Meta, the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Informatics, and the Association of Indonesian Internet Service Providers or APJII, held a discussion entitled “Meta Bacarita Local Products: MSMEs Empowered for Indonesia”. Specifically, the event, which was held live in Labuan Bajo and through the live broadcast of CfDS Instagram, discussed the acceleration of the digital economy through MSMEs by presenting perspectives from various backgrounds.
The involvement of various parties in the “SeaSide Chat – Talking about MSMEs” discussion seemed to be a direct practice of Dedy Permadi’s opening presentation. The Co-Chair of the G20 Digital Economy Working Group revealed that the cooperation of all stakeholders is very important to realize economic improvement through MSMEs, including through educational efforts.
One of the stakeholders that Dedy referred to is the Ministry of Communication and Information. Based on the presentation of Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, B.sc., MM., as the Director General of Applications and Informatics of the Ministry of Communication and Information, the government does not only carry out educational efforts to increase the digital literacy of MSME owners. However, the state through the Ministry of Communication and Information has also provided a platform for business development called UMKM Go Online. As the name implies, this program is designed so that MSME owners can understand the online sales process better. That way, MSMEs can be independent and expand the scope of product marketing.
Another stakeholder, APJII, also made a similar contribution through the Mandiri Internet Village program. This program specifically provides internet network access in villages outside the Disadvantaged, Frontier, and Outermost or 3T areas. The General Chair of APJII, Muhammad Arif, also explained that the Mandiri Internet Village program was accompanied by socialization and outreach the MSME owners regarding the advantages of using digital channels for product marketing. All efforts described by the previous stakeholders received great support from other actors, namely company representatives. Meta, represented by Rahima Abdulrahim as Director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia, showed a commitment to collaborate with various parties. This collaboration is carried out as an effort to encourage the use of digital technology. With the hope, MSMEs can be helped to grow and progress. In the long term, the successful use of digital technology is expected to be able to encourage a sustainable local economy.
This discussion also presented representatives of MSMEs who are members of the Labuan Bajo Unity Business Group Association (Akunitas), eLBajo Polytechnic students, local communities, local government representatives, and the general public. A rebroadcast of this discussion can be seen on the Instagram account @cfds_ugm.