Coordinating Minister For SMEs: FGD B20 In Bali Becomes An Opportunity For MSME Cooperation

PHOTO: DAFI-YOU

BADUNG - Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (MenkopUKM) Teten Masduki hopes that the series of B20 group discussion forums (FGD) which took place in Bali on Monday, can capture various innovations and opportunities for cooperation in advancing the digital ecosystem, including for MSMEs in G20 countries.

According to him, the acceleration of digital transformation for MSMEs needs to be continuously supported because these business actors are proven to have better resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Hopefully today's discussion (8/8) involving G20 countries and national and multinational business actors can give birth to fresh ideas and innovations, as well as opportunities for further collaboration in developing a digital economy ecosystem that is stronger, inclusive, and supports the SDGs. (Sustainable Development Goals, ed.),” said Teten when opening the G20 side event, "B20 Indonesia Digital Economy to Support SDGs" in Nusa Dua, Bali, Monday, August 8.

In the B20 event, which is a series of G20 side events, there were three discussion sessions discussing the development of the digital ecosystem, the digital economy, and efforts to use both to achieve the SDGs. In several series of events, there were delegates from Britain and India who were present in Bali.

Indonesia through the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs as the host of the event also held an Entrepreneurship Financial Fiesta. At the event, startups will present their business plans to 39 national and global venture companies with a focus on 7 strategic SME sectors, namely agriculture, fisheries, education, health, tourism, maritime, and logistics.

Then, KemenkopUKM also held an e-business match making for SMEs in the ASEAN region through the ASEAN Access platform.

MenkopUKM in his keynote speech during the opening ceremony explained that the Indonesian Government chose the digital economy theme because it was in line with the focus of the Indonesian Presidency's agenda at the G20.

"The focus of the agenda of the Indonesian G20 Presidency is in digital transformation, namely preparing a new landscape of cooperation between countries and all stakeholders in ensuring mutual prosperity in the digital era," said Teten.

MenkopUKM said that MSMEs in Indonesia contributed 61 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP). The current condition, he added, is that 86 percent of MSME players depend on the Internet to run their business.

Teten said that the MSME sector has an important role in the digital economy map in Indonesia.