Pacu Transformasi Digital Industri, Kemenperin Accelerate RI Jadi Anggota OECD

Director General of Small, Medium, and Multifarious Industries (IKMA) of the Ministry of Industry Reni Yanita. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Industry)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is pushing for digital transformation of the industry, which is included in the Making Indonesia 4.0 agenda to accelerate accession of Indonesia to become a member of the Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

One of the requirements to join the OECD is that Indonesia must adopt digital technology for energy efficiency and other resources through business digitization to the transition of the green industry.

The Director General of Small, Medium, and Multifarious Industries (IKMA) of the Ministry of Industry, Reni Yanita, said that to realize Indonesia 4.0, digital transformation does not only cover large-scale industries, but also small and medium-sized industries (IKM).

"We have an e-Smart IKM program that helps IKM players to expand market access through digital marketing. We are working with well-known marketplaces, such as Tokopedia, Shopee, Blibli, Bukalapak, and also Indonesian e-commerce associations (idEA)," said Reni in a written statement, quoted Monday, November 13.

The E-Smart IKM program itself is an effort to encourage the mastery of digital literacy in terms of marketing, sales, and technology support for the manufacturing process in order to increase added value and product competitiveness.

Reni assessed that digital marketing is an expertise that must be controlled by any business actors in the modern era. The reason is, the post-COVID-19 trend and the increase in digital technology penetration in Indonesia have caused consumers to experience changes in taste of shopping.

"From conventional shopping initially by visiting shops to online shopping," he said.

On the other hand, said Reni, digital transformation also has great opportunities in the future. As recorded in internet user data, e-commerce users, and the value of Indonesia's e-commerce transactions.

Based on the 2023 digital report, there are around 212 million internet users in Indonesia, with internet penetration reaching 77 percent.

Statista Market Insights also reports that there are 179 million e-commerce users in Indonesia throughout 2022, and is predicted to reach 196 million in 2023.

For the value of domestic e-commerce transactions as predicted by Bank Indonesia, it has the potential to reach IDR 572 trillion by the end of 2023.

"If you look at the data, this is actually an opportunity that must be utilized. Now it only has a smartphone, business actors can expand the market and increase sales without the need for large costs and energy compared to conventional marketing methods," he said.

For your information, OECD has 38 countries as of 2023. The Indonesian government asks for the support of OECD member countries and the Secretary-General of OECD to support Indonesia's access to the international organization.

The decision to open or not the Indonesian accession process to become a member will be decided through the OECD Council meeting in December 2023 or January 2024.

"We ask for a response from the OECD to the position of OECD member countries in general to the Indonesian intention, as well as the development of the Indonesian accession process," said Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita in a written statement in Jakarta, Thursday, October 5.

Minister of Industry Agus said that being an OECD member is not easy, as is the experience of Costa Rica, Colombia, and others which takes about three to seven years in the accession process.

Indonesia targets to be able to complete the accession process in less than four years.

In order to achieve the set target, the Government of Indonesia formed a National Committee tasked with identifying polycy gaps, sectors, and issues that were able to be resolved quickly (low-hanging fruit).

"We note that in implementing the accession process, Indonesia must comply with recommendations and harmonize several national regulations in order to comply with OECD standards. Indonesia has harmonized 15 of the 200 OECD standards," he said.