Trade Ministry Records US$135 Million in Potential Transactions from Online Business Matching

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) has noted that online pitching and business matching programmes have successfully generated potential transactions and export transactions of almost US$135 million throughout 2025.

The Director of Export Development for Services and Creative Products at the Ministry of Trade, Ari Satria, stated that utilising digital platforms is one of the key strategies to expand market access for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“We are conducting many activities online. MSME participants present their products to overseas trade representatives, and we then assess whether those products meet the requirements of the destination countries,” said Ari during a discussion at the Jakarta Kreatif Festival in Jakarta on Sunday.

He explained that the Ministry of Trade maintains 46 trade representatives spread across 33 countries, tasked with providing feedback on product readiness and connecting business actors with potential buyers through business matching.

“The representatives will provide guidance, for example, if additional certification A or certification B is required. Once everything is complete, we then proceed with business matching with potential buyers,” he added.

Throughout 2025, the Ministry of Trade has organised 662 online pitching and business matching activities, resulting in potential and realised transactions of nearly US$135 million, or approximately Rp2.4 trillion.

Meanwhile, for the period of January to April of the current year, the transaction value generated has reached approximately US$107.34 million (Rp1.9 trillion).

According to Ari, this achievement demonstrates that digital promotion can serve as an effective alternative for opening export market access without having to rely solely on overseas trade fairs.

Furthermore, the business matching initiative is part of the ‘MSMEs Brave to Innovate, Ready to Adapt to Export’ (UMKM BISA Ekspor) programme, which was initiated by the Ministry of Trade in January 2025.

He noted that these activities also facilitate MSMEs with limited promotional budgets to meet international potential buyers directly through government facilitation.

“We are connecting these MSME participants online with buyers who are indeed potential leads,” said Ari.