Government focuses on creating a fairer digital market to support SMEs
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government, in supporting the growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is now focusing on improving and fostering the creation of a fairer digital market.
Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Nezar Patria stated that the government’s current focus for supporting digital SME growth in Indonesia is no longer on creating the number of online SMEs, but on enhancing their capacity to expand, broaden markets, and upgrade.
“If we say SMEs must go online, that’s already done. Now we talk about how they can go productive and go competitive,” Nezar said in his statement received and confirmed in Jakarta on Wednesday.
“In this digital landscape, there is a strong influx of competitors from outside. Therefore, our SMEs need to get an equal position to compete,” he added.
Nezar emphasised the importance of fairness in the digital ecosystem. The government is pushing for an equal playing field, an equal space, so that SMEs do not lose to the power of platforms and global products.
To address these challenges, the government is beginning to explore a new, more open and integrated approach, one of which is by adopting an open network model like that implemented in India through the Open Network for Digital Commerce.
“Why not one platform that can connect to many channels. This is what India does, and it has proven to increase SME sales. We are exploring a model like that,” Nezar explained.
The government views this change in approach as key, from one based on programmes to one based on the real problems faced by SMEs, such as logistics, product standards, access to financing, to global market penetration.
“What we need to measure is not how many SMEs enter the digital space. But, whether they upgrade, are productive, and competitive,” Nezar said.
With this new policy direction, digital transformation is expected not only to expand access, but also to truly improve the welfare of SME actors and strengthen the national economy’s position amid global competition.