- 21/09/2016
- Category: Commentaries
The trend of using internet, social media, and everything online to run business is no longer an old thing. Entering a new phase of interaction, entrepreneurs and another economic actors are seemingly forced to explore new strategy in producing, marketing, until distributing its products. Technology offers many things especially to upgrade its effectivity and efficiency in managing economic activity. However, this changes came up with the first shock, especially in Indonesia, where most of local people develop local business in the form of small-medium enterprises (SME). Based on the data released in 2014, the number of Indonesia’s SME is one of the highest compared to other countries. The abundant number of productive population is unfortunately not in line with available job-fields. This condition triggers and forces local people to make a breakthrough by creating small owned business that may uphold their economic activity; they make their own economy.[1]
The existence of SME for Indonesia’s local economy becomes one of the main concern especially under Jokowi’s administration. However, during this transition period into more technologically-developed era, Indonesia’s SMEs still need helps from government and related actors, because some SME run in the sub-urban area and still utilize traditional methods in their whole economic process; meanwhile other developed countries are way ahead by utilizing modern methods, particularly technology. Especially in facing ASEAN Community, Indonesia’s SMEs need more efforts to boldly compete with other products from other countries. One of the serious challenge comes from the fact that they have to start involving online platforms within their whole economic activities. The urgency originates from contemporary lifestyle which prefers the use of online platforms which include online selling and buying through internet platforms, such as website and mobile application. This urgency prompts innovative people to take the opportunity by initiating digital business, where economic process (from production to distribution and marketing) is entailed to the application of technology. A new efficiency in economy is then emerged.
The e-commerce industry recently undergoes stoking growth. This is shown from the data acquired that among 75 million internet users in the country, about 7.8% is active online shoppers, or about 5.9 million people; and the number is raising rapidly every day. Rising incomes and easier access to technology, including the increasing availability of smartphones, have given a boost to the e-commerce industry here. E-commerce developers offer an easy access, convenience way of shipping products.[2] The emerging question is then, what about small medium enterprises? During this transition period, will they survive by still running in conventional way?
According to experts, the era of globalization that we are living in now prompts an even more integration with technological hustles in order to foster even better productivity. ICT could bring broad and in-depth information to those who have been hitherto denied such knowledge and thus opportunities for social and economic mobility.[3] This fact leads to the answer that actually to survive with market higher competition in this digital era, local business developer has no other choice but to digitalize their business. Looking at this phenomenon, government of Indonesia seemingly tries to chase its tardy digitalization by triggering local business and small medium enterprises to widen its market by launching the Indonesia’s Roadmap of E-commerce. This program was launched on last January 2016 and proposed to be a national program under supervision of Ministry of Communication and Informatics and Ministry of Trade. This roadmap gives us the clear platform of how Indonesian government would transform digital economy into more acceptable and accessible for society. It underlines 7 key points which are generally specified to simplify and prosper both e-commerce businessmen and consumers. These points include logistic services, financing for startups, consumer protection, communication infrastructure, tax-in e-commerce business, education and human resource sector, cyber security.[4]
Although Indonesia government has prepared the launch of Indonesia’s Roadmap of E-commerce after such a long negotiation, its implementation is exceptionally anticipated by society. Initiated by Ministry of Communication and Informatics and Ministry of Trade, Indonesia’s Roadmap of E-commerce is purposed to help SME as well to catch up with global market. To realize this vision, e-commerce developers at the same time are supposed to give their support as well in the form of creating such easy and accessible way to put SMEs products on their page. This way would not be simple, since digital industry is still very much monopolized and stirred by huge business with huge capitals, thus marginalizing SMEs with limited capitals even further.[5] However, some e-commerce players in Indonesia do understand a way to involve and empower SMEs to have a role on digital market, like what is accomplished by bukalapak, tokopedia, KOLA, and many more. They trigger SME to move online, which in turn helps SMEs to expand their market and get the opportunity to broaden their capacity in the use of technology in digital business.
Having Indonesia’s Roadmap of E-commerce means that government of Indonesia is ready enough to handle a roadmap and platform of e-commerce to be more organized, from financing, security, to equipping the human resources. Looking at the twentieth century economic model, this would be well-managed when collaboration of government and e-commerce could touch deeply to small-medium enterprises developer as the backbones of Indonesia’s economy. Hopefully, Indonesia’s Roadmap of E-commerce will be effectively directed not only for the e-commerce developer to grow up, but also SMEs developers to have chance in digitalizing its product and find digital market.
picture: pexels.com
[1] Henny Rachma Sari, ”Jumlah UMKM Indonesia 57.9juta, terbanyak dibanding negara lain”, Merdeka (online), 24 September 2014, , accessed on August 16, 2016
[2] Retno Woro Yuniar, “What Makes E-commerce work in Indonesia”, The Wall Street Journal (online), 15 March 2015, , accessed on September 4th 2016
[3] Kuyoro Shade O., Awodele O., Okolie Samuel O., “ICT: An Effective Tool in Human Development”, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 7, No.7, Nigeria: April 2012
[4] “Road Map E-commerce Indonesia Diluncurkan”, Indonesia Ecommerce Summit and Expo (online), 28 Maret 2016, , accessed on September 15th 2016
[5] Ahmad Anshorimuslim Syuhada, Windy Gambetta, “Online Marketplace for Indonesian Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Based on Social Media”, Procedia Technology, Vol. 11, Bandung: 2013, pg. 228
