Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Teten Masduki stated.all micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), no matter where they are from and/or how small they are, should enter the digital ecosystem.
Teten Masduki urged internet marketers to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to enter the digital ecosystem.
He acknowledged that some of Indonesia's MSMEs are not yet connected to the digital ecosystem and are not familiar with digital technology.
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"I urge to help our MSMEs in the online market because 50 percent of the products sold in e-commerce are still imported products," he noted.
This is despite the fact that many of Indonesia's domestic products are already well-made. Hence, all MSMEs, no matter where they are and how small they are, should enter the digital ecosystem, he stated.
The minister also underlined the importance of MSMEs in Indonesia, given that 99 percent of Indonesia's economy is still dominated by MSMEs and 97 percent of jobs are provided by micro enterprises.
The government already supports the development of local brands, with a policy in which 40 percent, or around Rp400 trillion, be used for the procurement of government goods and service from MSMEs products.
This policy opens up the opportunity for the creation of around two million jobs or drive economic growth by 1.8 percent, according to Statistics Indonesia's (BPS') calculation.
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Currently, Indonesia has a state budget of Rp2,700 trillion. If this continues to improve, then it means that the government has more to spend.
President Joko Widodo recently opened the opportunity of government goods and service procurement spending that should come entirely from local products, Masduki stated.
If the government buys these local products, then there is an opportunity for producers to improve the quality of their production as is the case in any country.
"The government understands this. Hence, it continues to buy them. Indonesians should also buy MSMEs products," he remarked.
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