In a written statement here on Wednesday, Zuairina noted that COVID-19 had compelled citizens to conduct their transactions online, thereby making them accustomed to shopping goods through the digital platform.
According to the DPR member, such changes in the people's shopping behaviour must be followed by digitalization of small-micro enterprises in the people's market, since otherwise they will be forced to close down their business.
"Various changes in the people's behaviour in conducting various transactions is highly impactful in the development of market merchants," Zuairina remarked.
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Data from Indonesia's Market Merchant Association indicated that there are five million market merchants, or 43 percent of the 12 million traditional market merchants, that were forced to close down due to empty markets and the lack of buyers due to the pandemic, Zuairina highlighted.
"The government should conduct digitalization as well as training for market merchants through collaboration with digital entrepreneurs or digital platform founders," Zuairina suggested.
Through this effort, increasingly more number of market merchants will use digital technology, so that their businesses can survive amid the pandemic and keep up with the changing times, Zuairina stated.
Earlier, Primary Director of Smesco Indonesia, the public service agency under the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry, Leonard Theosabrata stated that his group was targeting to digitalize 158 thousand MSMEs by 2023.
"Within that time period, a SMESCO MSMEs ecosystem with advanced digital economic power will be formed," he noted in a written statement here on Thursday.
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Translator: Razi Rahman, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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