The training program mirrors the government’s commitment to advancing, strengthening, and empowering MSMEs and ultra-micro enterprises in the country, Minister Plate noted here on Monday during a virtual launch.
The ministry is tasked with ensuring the development of telecommunication infrastructure.
One of the minister’s projects in the pipeline is to establish and extend 4G coverage to 12,548 villages and sub-districts across Indonesia by 2022 at the latest.
Concurrently, the ministry is planning to launch a multi-function High-Throughput Satellite -- Indonesia Raya or Satellite Satria Satu -- and put it into orbit and operate it by Q3 of 2023.
The satellite is intended to meet the service requirements of 150 thousand public services at 500 thousand public service points in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry's BAKTI has offered free Internet access at over 7,634 points.
"Agenda for the expansion of telecommunications infrastructure development must, of course, be accompanied by the community’s readiness to optimally utilize internet access," Plate remarked.
"It is at this point that BAKTI's ultra-micro MSME digital training program takes on the role to empower and boost the capacity of the community, especially small- and medium-sized as well as ultra-micro entrepreneurs, to be able to optimally utilize telecommunications infrastructure," he stated.
Ultra-micro enterprises and MSMEs have contributed significantly to the Indonesian economy at over 60 percent to the gross domestic product, the minister stated.
However, several of them are currently impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country has applied large-scale social distancing (PSBB) measures to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.
Simultaneously, there has been a rapid increase in digital economic activities, with online sales in April 2020 increasing by 480 percent from that in January 2020.
The government has bolstered digital business activities toward digital onboarding.
Indonesia has some 64 million ultra-micro enterprises and MSMEs, of which only 9.4 million, or 14.6 percent, have gone online, he pointed out.
Some two thousand ultra-micro enterprises and MSMEs participated in the training program.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Arindra Meodia, Fardah
Editor: Suharto
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