Kominfo Ready To Collaborate With Strong Indonesian Women In G20 To Support MSMEs With Disabilities Involving In The Digital Economy

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) encourages people with disabilities who are also perpetrators of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), to play a role and be actively involved in supporting the digital economy in the country.

According to Usman Kansong, Director General of Information and Public Communication of Kominfo, through the Directorate General of Information Applications (Ditjen Aptika), his party has provided a number of trainings for MSME businessmen with disabilities. So, they can master the digital economy in Indonesia. The programs are made according to the needs of people with disabilities.

"The big concept of Kominfo in digital transformation is "nobody left behind". This means that all Indonesian people are invited to digitally transform. The pillars of digital transformation are the government, the business world, and the general public, including people with disabilities," said Usman, in an official statement, Tuesday 16 August.

Usman said, the Directorate General of Aptika Kominfo, among others, has provided 1000 Digital Startup and Digital Literacy programs. In this program, Kominfo will be a facilitator, preparing systems, tools and mechanisms that can assist startup business development. There are also special programs, such as coaching to adapt the business to the market.

To succeed the 1000 Digital Startup program for people with disabilities, the Directorate General of Aptika Kominfo will involve a number of parties who pay great attention to people with disabilities. Through this collaboration, the Directorate General of Aptika provides new knowledge about the digital world and provides a number of positions for people with disabilities to be able to participate and collaborate.

"For example, there is a disability figure named Anjas Pramono from Brawijaya University who has won an international award for his achievements in creating five Android-based applications, most of which are related to disability issues," explained Usman.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (2020), people with disabilities in Indonesia reach 22.5 million people or about five percent of the total population. With such a large number, every digital literacy program that is run always provides a sign language translator.

Meanwhile, citing a report from Google and Temasek in 2019, Indonesia is one of the Southeast Asian countries that experienced the highest digital economic growth. The value of Indonesia's digital economy is projected to reach 100 billion US dollars by 2025.

The Indonesian Tangguh Women Foundation (PTI) has been known to be a successful business incubator for the disabled. The general chairman of PTI, Myra Winarko, appreciates the steps taken by the Ministry of Communication and Information to provide the maximum opportunity for MSME business players from people with disabilities.

He emphasized that the PTI Foundation is ready to collaborate with Kominfo. According to him, this collaboration will open up more opportunities for MSMEs with disabilities not only to display their works such as craft, culinary and others, but also access a wider market.

"In taking advantage of the momentum of the G20, we hope not only to get the opportunity to exhibit and sell the work of our students. Furthermore, we hope to open business links for people with disabilities. We are very grateful for this activity, we hope to open more opportunities for people with disabilities. people with disabilities in Indonesia so that they can be economically empowered," said Myra.

Previously, the Indonesian Tangguh Women Foundation (PTI) collaborated with the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (Kemenkop and UKM) to encourage business people from the disabled to master the digital economy. The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs invite entrepreneurs from people with disabilities assisted by the PTI Foundation to participate in the Quarterly Seminar 3 Side Event B20 G20 Digital Economy to Support SDGs, which was held at the Hilton Hotel, Nusa Dua Bali, Monday 8 August.

This side event discusses the adoption of digitalization for MSMEs that has been carried out by Indonesia. Carrying the theme "Spirit No One Behind", the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs provide the greatest opportunity for business people from people with disabilities assisted by the PTI Foundation to display their work at the B20 G20 event, at the Hilton Hotel, Nusa Dua, Bali.

So far, PTI has carried out its function by fostering various disability communities in various parts of Indonesia. Among them is the mental retardation community in Bandung, West Java, which produces Salted Eggs. Then, Make Up Artist training for the mute and deaf, painting training, and cooking training.

The graduates of this PTI training are on average already independent, some of whom have even been able to enter the job market as professionals. PTI as a business incubator also cooperates with several large companies and banks, to continue to provide guidance and digital marketing.

"In the future, we even plan to create our own platform, in addition to providing training for people with disabilities to enter the digital world independently," said Myra.