Shopee's Seriousness In Supporting Local MSMEs, From Opening Campus To Helping Export 20 Million Products

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - The technology company Shopee brings fresh air to local MSMEs by initiating the Simultaneous Export 1000 MSME Movement in 10 cities in Indonesia.

The event, which was held by Shopee on Wednesday, July 26, is a training ground for 1,000 local MSMEs to study export mechanisms through Shopee, and provides opportunities for them to reach foreign markets.

The 10-city MSME 1000 Export Movement is not in fact Shopee's first initiative in terms of advancing MSMEs. Since its first appearance in 2015, Shopee has invested in order to contribute to the progress of local MSMEs to be able to develop to go global.

This investment was realized into a number of programs that were present for developing local MSME skills such as the Bimbel Shopee which is an online training program for MSMEs to go digital, Shopee Centers that reach MSME players in remote cities, Shopee MSME Campus infrastructure spread across 10 cities in Indonesia, as well as the Shopee Export Program which helps MSME products to export to reach Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Latin America.

In fact, a series of programs initiated by Shopee have succeeded in having a positive impact on MSME players in Indonesia, especially in terms of exports. This is evidenced by the number of training participants at the Shopee Export MSME Campus which has doubled every year.

In addition, currently there are 20 million local MSME products that are members of the Shopee Export Program and are ready to be purchased by customers abroad.

One of the success stories of MSMEs that have succeeded in gaining success through the Shopee ecosystem is Achmad Latief, the owner of the online shop Toko Zahra 27. During the pandemic, local MSME players who sell clothes and batik cloth are threatened with closing their businesses because they have not received a penny turnover.

Before I sold on Shopee, I had an offline shop that went bankrupt during the pandemic until finally there was a colleague of mine who had already succeeded in selling online, "explained Achmad.

"It is recommended by my friend to open a shop at Shopee, and Alhamdulillah, at the end of 2021, sales will stabilize. From the turnover of tens of millions, in 2023, Alhamdulillah has touched billions," added Achmad.

Not only succeeded in rebuilding its business, this man from Boyolali also tasted the ease of exports.

"As a batik seller, yes, I am very proud that my products can be purchased by foreign people, especially our customers in Singapore and Malaysia. Because it is indeed as easy as the features and programs provided by Shopee so I can sell hundreds of products per month, so it's a shame if it is not used," said Achmad in the middle of the Simultaneous 10 City MSME Export Movement event.

A similar story also came from Kevin Naftali, the owner of the brand name Badminton Official.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail industry almost all went down, while we even broke the egg during the pandemic. Sales of Goods.Co products have increased by 2 times. From the pandemic to after the pandemic in 20, it has increased by almost 50 percent with turnover above one billion, and has exported to Southeast Asia and even Latin America," said Kevin.

Kevin also said that many quality local products are ready to compete abroad.

"For local MSME friends, don't be afraid to export it because our goods are not inferior to products made in other countries. For friends, especially new MSMEs who don't know about regulations, about taxes, export mechanisms, how come this is a program at Shopee. Sending goods to Singapore is as easy as sending goods to Bandung, "explained Kevin.

With this commitment and investment, Shopee continues to move in line with the Government's vision and mission in supporting MSME growth and encouraging the country's economy.

Shopee's active support for local business actors is one of the important pillars in realizing inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Indonesia.