Indonesia-Korea Collaboration Accelerates Digital Transformation of SMEs

Efforts to accelerate the digital transformation of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector in Indonesia continue to be strengthened through international collaboration. This was realised through the 1st Korea-Indonesia Smart Factory Cooperation Seminar of 2026, held at the Binus Alam Sutera Campus on 18 June 2026. The event, initiated by the Innobiz Association, served as a platform to share the results of an Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme titled ‘Implementation of Smart Factory and Expert Development for Indonesian Industrial Transformation’. The programme has been running since 2023 through cooperation between South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the INNOBIZ Association, and Indonesian counterparts to drive the digitalisation of SMEs and cooperatives. The seminar was attended by approximately 100 participants, including government representatives, academics, business actors, and stakeholders from the cooperative and SME sector. Attendees included the Secretary of the Ministry of SMEs Loto Srinaita Ginting, and the Deputy for Institutional Affairs and Digitalisation of the Ministry of Cooperatives Henra Saragih, as well as the Vice Rector of BINUS University George Wijaya Hadipoespito. In her remarks, the Special Staff to the Minister for Green Economy, Cooperation and Foreign Financing, Triana Krisandini Tanjung, emphasised that digitalisation must be viewed as a comprehensive strategy to enhance business competitiveness. ‘In line with the spirit of Organising Data, Eliminating Waste, Building Smart Factories, digital transformation must be understood as a holistic strategy to increase productivity, efficiency, and business sustainability for Indonesian SMEs,’ she stated. The seminar featured a range of materials, from the achievements of the Korea-Indonesia ODA Smart Factory project and strategies for building smart factories based on data management, to the integration of lean management with smart factory systems and case studies of implementation in companies that have adopted the technology. Several beneficiary companies of the programme, such as PT Ganesha Abaditama, KBPS Susu Pengalengan, and PT Adyawinsa Electrical and Power, shared their experiences and the results achieved after adopting smart factory systems. These presentations drew significant attention from participants as they demonstrated the tangible impact of digital transformation on improving efficiency and productivity. Kang Jang Hyung, head of Innobiz’s Digital Transformation Headquarters, said the seminar was an important moment to showcase the results of cooperation over the past four years. ‘This seminar is a meaningful opportunity to share the achievements and experiences from the ODA Smart Factory project that has been running for the last four years. Going forward, we will continue to expand technology exchange, human resource development, and business-to-business cooperation between Korea and Indonesia, centred on the Smart Factory Training Center,’ Kang said. Currently, the Innobiz Association, together with the Ministry of SMEs, the Ministry of Cooperatives, and BINUS University, is also running programmes for the management of the Smart Factory Training Center, expert development, and manufacturing process improvement for industry players. In 2026, the smart factory-based manufacturing process improvement programme is also being applied to 12 manufacturing companies in Indonesia. Looking ahead, Innobiz plans to hold follow-up seminars and result-reporting activities in the second half of this year to expand collaboration, technology exchange, and strengthen business relations between South Korean and Indonesian companies.