Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesian Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) Teten Masduki has targeted 30 million players of MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) to be able to transform to digital platforms by 2024.

With that target, an average of 5 million MSMEs per year should be transformed, said Teten in a virtual press conference on Friday (Aug. 5).

He added that the transformation to the digital system was the key for MSMEs to be able to survive in the midst of the pandemic.

Currently, there are 8 million MSME actors in the digital ecosystem, and so far there are 14.5 million or 22 percent of the total MSME population which are already onboarding on the digital platform, Teten pointed out.

In the transformation to the digital realm, Teten noted three main problems were faced by MSME players, namely digital literacy, production capacity, and product competitiveness.

Teten also highlighted the importance of future SMEs based on creativity and technological innovation, the rapid development of digital technology and the advent of 5G, as well as the second wave of digital disruption.

He further said that currently the ministry and Smesco (the Institution of Cooperative and SME Marketing Services) are preparing Smesco Labo as a future SME exploration laboratory that aims to explore applied technology.

In addition, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy are also preparing several cross-ministerial collaboration programs.

"Hopefully this can help MSMEs survive the impact of the pandemic to recover and grow, and be competitive at the national and global levels after the pandemic," Teten said.

Reporting by Indonesia Window