Limited Internet Network Access, MSME Digitization Only Can OCCUR In The Urban City

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) researcher Agus Herta Sumarto explained the two problems experienced by MSMEs in remote areas in the digital transformation process.

First, access to quality internet networks is not really evenly distributed. Indeed, there has been a lot of progress with the construction of internet signal transmitter towers, but still not enough," explained Agus, reported by Antara, Friday, November 4.

This limited network access has resulted in the digitization of MSMEs in urban areas, which in fact is a trading center instead of a small industrial center. So that it can be understood if the developed MSMEs are MSMEs in the trade sector, the majority of which sell imported products.

The second problem is related to the ability of MSME human resources to use digital technology. Not a few MSME players still find it difficult to take advantage of e-commerce (e-commerce) & e-dompet (e-wallet) technology," he said.

Agus added that the Ministry of Cooperatives can boost the ability of MSME human resources to use digital technology by collaborating and collaborating with other ministries.

"Kemenkop is working with the Ministry of Education and Culture to encourage special vocational education to maximize the ability of MSMEs to utilize digital technology," he said.

Meanwhile, in terms of infrastructure internet facilities, they can cooperate with companies that provide internet services to expand their network.

"The 5G network must be evenly distributed to remote and rural areas in the outskirts," he concluded.

As is known, the government is targeting 30 million MSMEs to go digital by 2024. According to the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki, through digitizing Indonesian MSMEs, it is hoped that they can compete, expanding the coverage of the national to international market (go global).