We have seen some new trends that SMEs in the traditional market are more digitally literate.Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi drew attention to an increase in digital literacy among small- and medium-scale enterprises (SME) in traditional markets.
"We have seen some new trends that SMEs in the traditional market are more digitally literate. They have started to sell their products through digital platforms," Lutfi stated after visiting the Kramat Jati Market here on Thursday.
A trader has also claimed that 80 percent of his turnover had been sold on the digital platform, he remarked.
Lutfi noted that the ministry had targeted the onboarding of one million MSMEs onto the digital platform in 2022 to boost exports.
Currently, out of the 16 thousand exporters, 85 percent are micro-, small-, and medium-scale enterprises (MSME). However, some 95 percent of the country's exports were managed by major businesses.
According to a study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), MSMEs that had started to export and moved their businesses onto digital platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic had recorded an added value of 36 percent.
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Hence, the Trade Ministry will help MSME players to boost exports, Lutfi noted.
Indonesian e-commerce transactions had reached Rp266 trillion in 2020, and as of the second quarter of 2021, the figure had reached Rp186.8 trillion.
The number of MSMEs onboarded onto the digital ecosystem had increased to 15.3 million, or 23.9 percent of the total MSMEs, amid the pandemic.
The Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry has projected Indonesia's digital market potential to reach US$124 billion, or around Rp1,700 trillion, by 2025.
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Translator: Sella P Gareta, Sri Haryati
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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