Coordinating Minister Airlangga: Instinctively, Women Have The Desire To Survive, Thus Encouraging Them To Become Entrepreneurs

JAKARTA - Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of the national economy. This can be seen from the ability of MSMEs that contribute 60.51 percent to GDP, absorb 96.92 percent of the workforce, and contribute 15.65 percent of non-oil exports.

When viewed from the number of businesses in Indonesia, 99 percent are dominated by MSMEs, which are 64.2 million business actors. Of these, 37 million MSMEs in Indonesia are managed by women. Therefore, women have a role that cannot be underestimated in their participation to move the wheels of the economy.

"Women who instinctively have the desire to survive for their families, thus encouraging them to become entrepreneurs," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto in his direction representing the President of the Republic of Indonesia delivered at the Khadijah Forum event entitled "Towards a Million Free Halal Certifications for MSMEs". held in Jakarta on Thursday, October 28 last.

Compared to the world average, Indonesian women have a higher ratio of business ownership. Data from Google and Kantar in 2020 shows that currently the response of women in Indonesia is increasingly positive for entrepreneurship.

The number of women in Indonesia who have become entrepreneurs is 49 percent, and 45 percent of women who want to be entrepreneurs in the future. There are also quite a number of women who use digital, which is around 35 percent of all online sales in Indonesia.

Regarding online sales, there are still many MSMEs that have not used digital technology in carrying out their business, where it is estimated that only 24 percent of MSMEs have used e-commerce in marketing their products.

The potential of the digital economy in Indonesia is predicted to be the largest in Southeast Asia by 2025, amounting to IDR 1,738 trillion. Currently, the number of cellular phone usage in Indonesia is 345.3 million units, greater than the total population. Meanwhile, there are 202.6 million active internet users.

Thus, one of the opportunities that can be utilized by MSMEs, including women, is to carry out business transformation through the use of digital technology. However, the transition to the use of digital technology cannot be done just like that, but needs to be accompanied by an increase in product quality, production capacity, and digital literacy in order to be able to carry out online transactions optimally.

Digitalization is something that needs to be encouraged, especially in the midst of various challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to changes in behavior which are often called “the economic phenomenon of minimal face-to-face meetings” or the “Less Contact Economy” where digital technology plays a central role in supporting community activities and linking human interactions.

Coordinating Minister Airlangga shared his experience during a visit to Mandalika, NTB. There is one MSME actor who is engaged in the snack food sector following the Pre-Employment Card training which can increase his business turnover by utilizing digitalization.

"By participating in the Pre-Employment Card, the person concerned learns to participate in promotions, packaging improvements, how to take pictures and incorporate them into e-commerce, and thank God the turnover has increased to 30 million per month," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

In addition to the importance of digital transformation, the current halal lifestyle has also experienced rapid development in the last two decades, both globally and nationally.

Data from The State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2019/2020 reports that the amount of halal food and lifestyle expenditure for Muslims in the world reached US$2.2 trillion in 2018 and is expected to continue to grow to reach US$3.2 trillion in 2024, with the cumulative rate of growth reached 6.2 percent per year.

This high number is strongly influenced by the increasing number of Muslims in the world which reaches 1.8 billion people, and is predicted to reach 27.5 percent of the world's total population by 2030.

MSMEs in Indonesia need to take part in reading these opportunities, one of which is by utilizing policies and programs to facilitate halal certification for MSMEs.

The government has also provided facilities for halal certification for MSEs as mandated in the Job Creation Law and PP 39 of 2021 concerning the Implementation of the Halal Product Assurance Sector, where JPH certification for MSEs can be carried out with a self-declare statement of MSE actors based on halal standards from the Assurance Organizing Agency. Halal Products (BPJPH).

The Khadijah Forum series of events were filled with the Grand Launching of Indonesian MSME Women's Empowerment (PPUMI), the reading of a declaration read by the General Chairperson of the Central PPUMI Munifah Syahwani which contained concerns about the people's economy, the people's economy and especially the women's economy which was then followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the context of acceleration one million free halal certifications for MSMEs conducted between PPUMI, Telkomsel, Indonesia Stock Exchange, and BPJPH.

After that, the launching of a million free halal certifications for MSMEs throughout Indonesia was followed by a High Level Policy Discussion (HLPD), and a National Digitalization Training for MSMEs.

Also attending offline at this event were the Governor of Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo, Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki, Head of BPJPH Muhammad Aqil Irham, and BSI President Commissioner Adiwarman. Meanwhile, those who attended online were Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani, Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi, and Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati.