Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said that the digital economy in Indonesia would improve if it includes products made by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
"Indonesia's digital economy is quite big. In 2022, (the value) was around 70 billion US dollars, and in 2025 (it is projected) to increase to US$130 billion, and in 2030 (it is projected to be) at US$300 billion," he said at the Mastercard Strive launch here on Tuesday.
According to him, MSME activities had a significant impact on Indonesia's economic growth in 2022, which reached 5.31 percent. An improvement in the economy will be followed by an improvement in people's welfare and a decrease in poverty and unemployment, he said.
However, there are many MSMEs that do not have access to the financial system, he noted. Meanwhile, Indonesia has set a target of achieving 88–90 percent financial inclusion by 2024.
Hartarto said that the presence of a digital financial system is crucial for encouraging financial inclusion, especially among MSMEs. To this end, he expressed the hope that more MSMEs will join the digital financial system so that the digital economy continues to grow and have a positive impact on Indonesia's economy. "The 'onboarding' of MSMEs (onto the digital ecosystem) currently has only reached 20 million from 64 million MSMEs," he stated.
He further said that, for MSMEs, the digital ecosystem offers many benefits, among others, easing the marketing of products, payment processes, and logistics distribution, as well as improving the quality of products and MSMEs' resilience against crises.
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In addition, the digital ecosystem also allows MSME players to get assistance that is very useful for their business growth. "Therefore, it is important that their 'onboarding to the digital system' can be felt in the community, moreover, the government has continued to encourage e-commerce to become a part of the (development of) MSMEs," the minister remarked.
