From the KKI Showcase to Corporate Supply Chains
When we buy a Hermès bag, we may feel we are buying style and prestige. But do we realise that the price of the bag is not determined only by the leather, the thread and the hands that stitched it? Behind a big brand lies reputation, quality standards, marketing strategy, distribution networks and consumer trust built over decades.
Many Indonesian MSME products are actually made with high skill and quality materials. Unfortunately, these products often come to market alone, without networks, without assured buyers and without a big name to open doors.
That is the irony of Indonesian MSMEs. They number around 64 million business units, absorb nearly 97 per cent of the workforce and contribute more than 60 per cent of gross domestic product. Yet their contribution to national exports is still around 15.7 per cent. MSMEs are enormous when counted by number, but not yet strong enough when measured by market reach. They are the backbone of the economy, yet some still have to bear the burden of growth alone.
For too long, the upgrading of MSMEs has too often evoked a single word: financing. As if once credit is granted, the business will automatically grow. In fact, capital without a market is like giving someone a new vehicle without showing them the road to take. Business owners can add machines, raw materials and workers. But who will buy when their production capacity increases? When the market is uncertain, financing can even turn from fuel for growth into a burden of instalments.
For this reason, the Corporate Partners with MSMEs Movement initiated by Bank Indonesia is worth examining. The movement began within the Karya Kreatif Indonesia (KKI) 2026 series organised by Bank Indonesia on 20–23 August 2026 in Halls A and B of the Jakarta International Convention Center, Jakarta. The event was held together with 27 ministries and agencies and 34 strategic partners. Rather than merely presenting an exhibition, KKI builds a meeting space for MSMEs, corporations, banks, government, buyers and export markets.
From Showcase to Value Chain
Exhibitions are indeed important, but exhibitions must not become the main event. A product can look beautiful for four days, receive praise, then return to the silence of the market once the exhibition lights are switched off. The real challenge is not simply making MSME products known, but ensuring that the products are bought repeatedly. MSMEs need contracts, sustainable orders, clear standards and the opportunity to become regular suppliers.
KKI 2026 provides a sizeable space to begin that process. More than 550 MSMEs took part in the exhibition in person and more than 1,300 MSMEs were involved through the digital platform. That number increased compared with KKI 2025, which was attended by 362 MSMEs offline and more than 1,100 MSMEs online. The increase in participation shows that a monetary authority can play a broader role: not only maintaining stability, but also nurturing sources of growth from the business layer closest to the community.
The spirit of Beudaya Meusare Sare from Aceh, meaning ‘empowered together’, makes KKI 2026 more than just a showcase of creative products. It hosted 44 series of activities, ranging from inclusive economic and financial discussions, creative works performances and tourism promotion to business matching for financing, exports and value chains. Holding activities that bring together many interests in one space is important work because the problems of MSMEs cannot possibly be solved by a single institution.
Imagine a coffee processor in East Nusa Tenggara. A roasting machine is certainly useful. Packaging design training is also needed. But the business will stall unless hotel networks, airlines, retail companies or national coffee shops are willing to absorb its products regularly. Such partnerships push MSMEs to improve quality, maintain supply, keep financial records and meet delivery schedules. The market is no longer a puzzle, but a measurable production target.
Corporations are not being asked to become charities. Partnering with MSMEs should be positioned as a business strategy that benefits both parties. Corporations gain nimble local suppliers, insight into consumer character and product uniqueness. MSMEs gain access to markets, technology, management knowledge and production standards. A healthy relationship is not one between a giving hand and a receiving hand, but a partnership of two business actors who need each other.
The turnover and export business matching target of KKI 2026 of Rp446.9 billion, and financing including green financing of Rp212.8 billion, provide optimism. Even so, the most important value is not only the transaction figures during the event, but the business relationships that remain alive after the event ends. A single three-year supply contract can be more transformative than a hundred retail transactions during an exhibition.
When Partnership Builds Trust
Corporate and MSME partnerships can also serve as a bridge for financial intermediation. Banks are often cautious about financing MSMEs because of limited financial reports, collateral and business track records. When an MSME has a contract from a corporate buyer, its revenue stream becomes more measurable. Banks no longer look only at the assets owned by the business actor, but also at the transaction prospects that can be generated.
Financing can then move from a collateral-based approach towards a value-chain-based approach. Purchase orders, supply contracts and transaction histories can be used to assess business viability.