Good News For Local MSMEs, Lazada Closes Accounts Of Foreign Traders Selling In Indonesia: This Is An Initiative With The Kemenkop SME

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Lokapasar or e-commerce company Lazada has closed the accounts of traders from abroad who sell their products in Indonesia in order to protect local MSME players from the invasion of foreign products.

Lazada Indonesia's Country Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs Waizly Darwin said the closing of foreign product import faucets through marketplaces or called cross-border e-commerce has been carried out in stages by Lazada during the pandemic period that lasted for the past year.

The closing of the faucet for imports of foreign products through Lazada is one of the programs from the Indonesian People's Work Acceleration Movement (Akar) carried out by Lazada in collaboration with the government, namely the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs.

"The People's Work Acceleration Movement or Indonesian Roots is an initiative of Lazada with the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs in order to provide protection, special attention, and support for domestic SMEs so that they can become kings in their own country," Waizly said, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, August 3.

He said there were three clusters of foreign products whose trade in Indonesia was closed, namely textiles and fashion, food and beverages, and handicrafts. These three product clusters were chosen because they are part of the government's import substitution industry cluster. In addition, the three clusters are considered important sectors in the context of national economic recovery.

According to Waizly, closing the faucet for imported foreign products is not easy and is still being carried out by Lazada to this day. Lazada is still monitoring and conducting studies on the termination of these imported products.

In addition to providing protection for domestic MSME actors, the Indonesian Root Movement also aims to increase the capacity and quality of local MSME actors by providing guidance, training, and logistical assistance through the ecosystem that Lazada already has.

"Not only training for onboarding to online platforms, but also actively forming networks, guidance and technology for local SMEs so that they can improve their quality and production capacity," said Waizly.

Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki appreciated the Indonesian Root Movement for stopping imports of foreign products through Lazada. According to him, this policy can protect local MSME products and increase competitiveness in their own country.

"I appreciate the Indonesian Roots Movement driven by Lazada. This shows Lazada's alignment in developing Indonesian MSMEs," said Teten.

Currently, there are 13.7 million MSME players who have switched to digital platforms. The Indonesian government targets 30 million MSME players to be included in the digital marketing ecosystem by 2024.