Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises and Lewi’s Collective Market provided online training and mentoring to business actors to help shape an entrepreneurial ecosystem based on digital technology, an official has said.

“This is an effort to push the development of entrepreneurs in strengthening the national economy,” deputy of entrepreneurship at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Siti Azizah, explained in a statement received here on Thursday.

Lewi’s Collective Market is an event that helps micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) players to carry out promotions, marketing, and branding, she informed.

The entrepreneur’s development program is targeted at various groups, including the general public and entrepreneurs at all levels, she added.

According to Azizah, it is necessary to provide support to business actors in the form of promoting entrepreneurship, improving the quality of business ideas, encouraging the achievement of economies of scale, and encouraging business expansion for export or import substitution.

“The intention is to give an impact on reducing the open unemployment rate, reducing poverty, and encouraging economic growth,” she expounded.

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The incubation program for entrepreneurs is expected to serve as the backbone for creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem, she said. The program includes support for business consulting and business assistance, capacity building, preparation of entrepreneurs entering the supply chain, and exhibitions for the incubation results, she informed.

The online training and mentoring program was conducted in hybrid format with 30 MSME players attending offline training, which was followed by online training of participants from various business sectors, Azizah said.

On a separate occasion, Azizah had said that the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs is encouraging micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to join the digital ecosystem to facilitate the recovery of the national economy.

The deputy noted that MSMEs have played a crucial role in the National Economic Recovery (PEN) program. She highlighted that MSMEs make up around 99 percent of businesses in Indonesia and absorb 97 percent of Indonesia's total workforce and contribute 61 percent to the nation's GDP (gross domestic product).

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Translator: M Baqir, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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