Surabaya's SMEs Achieve $2.73 Million in Exports, SIL Festival 2026 Absorbs Thousands of Local Workers
The Surabaya City Government (Pemkot) closed the Surabaya Industrial and Labour (SIL) Festival 2026 with achievements that surpassed initial targets, both in terms of export value and workforce absorption.
This event, which combined a job fair and international business matching, aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s policy direction emphasising the strengthening of domestic industry and the expansion of export markets.
Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi explained that the organisation of the SIL Festival 2026 is part of Pemkot’s efforts to promote export expansion and strengthen the economy based on local industry.
This was stated by Eri during the export dispatch as part of the SIL Festival 2026 at Grand City Convention Hall, Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday (8/4/2026).
“Many people ask, how is the movement of industry in Surabaya? Today we prove it. The total sent for export today reaches 2.7 million US dollars. This is a big number and far exceeds what we targeted,” said Eri in a press release received by Kompas.com on Saturday (11/4/2026).
In the forum, the export value of Surabaya City SMEs was recorded at 2.73 million US dollars, exceeding the initial target of 1 million US dollars.
“The total export sent is 2.73 million US dollars. This shows that Surabaya’s industry is not stagnant, but vibrant and moving continuously,” he said.
In addition to export achievements, Pemkot Surabaya also recorded an increase in business capacity with around 36 SMEs upgrading. Pemkot ensures it will consistently drive this process through mentoring and make it a model for business development.
“Alhamdulillah, currently there are also 36 SMEs that have upgraded. This is what we will boost. Later, we will use it as an example of how that movement works,” Eri emphasised.
“Insya Allah, there are six destination countries. The prospects are extraordinary,” he added.
Eri reiterated that the government’s role in economic development is not always at the forefront, but also as a driver and facilitator for business actors.
“The most important thing is what we have been doing, the city government supports, the city government pushes, it has been running and proven. Because the government is not always at the front,” Eri advised.
In the context of strengthening exports, Pemkot Surabaya also prepares follow-up steps in the form of training and mentoring for SMEs. In the future, young people will be encouraged to engage in export activities through more systematic mentoring schemes.
“Children, friends, or our relatives who want to export no longer need to worry. Later there will be mentoring that we will carry out in collaboration with authorised parties in this field,” said Eri.
“Later, those who have succeeded in exporting will become mentors for our younger siblings, our children, our relatives who will export,” he added.
On the employment side, the SIL Festival, supported and facilitated by Performa Event Expertindo, also recorded significant workforce absorption.
Around 1,200 job vacancies were filled by Surabaya ID card holders through the job fair that was part of the event series.
“Alhamdulillah, matur nuwun (thank you) to the companies, because there was a job fair at Balai Pemuda (which successfully) accepted 1,200 workers with Surabaya ID cards,” Eri stated.
Head of the Surabaya City Industry and Labour Office (Disperinaker) Hebi Djuniantoro explained that the SME export achievement was obtained through a strict curation process.
This process was carried out in a series of coaching clinics on 30–31 March 2026 as an initial step to encourage local industry actors to upgrade.
“After thorough curation, we found 36 companies (PT or SMEs) that were truly ready for export and directly matched with buyers,” Hebi revealed.
Surabaya SME exports were also supported by the presence of buyers from various countries, both in person and online. Three countries, namely Singapore, Oman, and Hong Kong, connected online and resulted in purchase commitments through letters of intent (LoI).
“The results are extraordinary, all buyers, both those present in person and online, made purchases. The total transactions outlined in the LoI reached 2.7 million US dollars,” Hebi explained.
According to him, the main goal of the SIL Festival 2026 is not only the transaction value, but also the follow-up impact in the form of increased workforce absorption along with the scaling up of SME businesses.
“We hope for new workforce absorption. That’s why in this event, a job fair was also held simultaneously,” he said.
“We hope that more than 1,000 workers with Surabaya ID cards can be accepted and placed in companies according to their respective abilities,” Hebi stated.
In the future, Pemkot Surabaya together with stakeholders will compile a strategic plan in the form of vocational training and export mentoring to improve the quality of human resources (HR).
“We will collaborate with many parties to resolve unemployment issues in Surabaya City,” Hebi clarified.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Performa Optima Group, Stefanus Sugeng Irawan, assessed this festival as a collaborative platform that brings together innovation and real opportunities for industrial and employment development.
“The SIL Festival 2026 is a real manifestation of our commitment to driving adaptive and inclusive industrial transformation,” said Sugeng.
He added that cross-sector synergy is a key factor in addressing global challenges while opening new spaces for improving the competitiveness of local workers.
“We believe that cross-sector collaboration is the main key to facing global challenges, while opening new opportunities for local workers to be more competitive,” Sugeng added.