Signs of "After Darkness Comes Light" for Indonesian SMEs
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The optimism flowing among Indonesian SMEs ahead of 2026 feels not just like fleeting euphoria, but a reflection of a fairly long adaptation journey in recent years.
When 86% of small business owners express confidence in growth, this figure is not merely an impressive statistic, but also an indicator of a changing mindset.
After navigating various global and domestic pressures, this self-assurance shows that small businesses are no longer just surviving, but beginning to position themselves as a maturing engine of economic growth.
Findings from the 17th CPA Australia Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey provide a fairly comprehensive picture of this situation. The survey, involving 4,166 small businesses across 11 markets, notes that optimism in Indonesia even surpasses the Asia-Pacific regional average.
As many as 71% of small business owners in Indonesia believe the national economy will grow higher than the regional average of 65%. This indicates relatively strong confidence in the direction of the national economy, even as the world is still shadowed by global uncertainties.
One of the main foundations of this optimism is technology investment. Throughout 2025, 72% of small businesses in Indonesia felt the positive impact of technology on their profitability.
This figure far exceeds the survey average of just 56%. Priya Terumalay, CPA Australia’s Southeast Asia Regional Head, emphasised that the strong and rapid return on technology investments has become the primary driver of high digital adoption among small businesses.
Behind these figures, there are nuances that need attention. Technology investments made are still tending to focus on aspects that directly interact with customers, such as mobile apps and digital payment systems. This is indeed an important step, but not yet sufficient to create long-term competitive advantages.
Technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud-based services, and customer relationship management software actually hold greater potential for sustainably enhancing productivity and competitiveness. In other words, digital transformation has not yet fully touched the core of business operations.
Online sales decline
Interestingly, although technology is recognised as contributing to profitability, the use of digital payments and online sales has actually experienced a slight decline.
In 2025, only 69% of small businesses obtained more than 10% of sales from digital payment platforms, down from 74% the previous year.
Online sales also followed a similar trend, dropping from 68% to 64%. This phenomenon can be read as a signal that digitalisation does not always progress linearly, and that business owners are still seeking a balance between online and offline channels in their strategies.
On the other hand, threats emerging from digital developments are also becoming more apparent. As many as 49% of small businesses reported experiencing losses from cyber attacks, either in time or financial terms.