Held on August 29-31, Indonesia SME Summit & Expo 2023 aims to encourage innovation, creativity, and growth of MSMEs in the ever-evolving digital era.
Heaptalk, Jakarta — The first Indonesia SME Summit & Expo (ISSE) is officially held for three days on August 29-31, 2023 at Hall 3-3a Indonesia Convention Exhibition Bumi Serpong Damai (ICE BSD), Banten.
Organized by Desty Startup, this event aims to encourage innovation, creativity, and growth of MSMEs in the ever-evolving digital era. Further, ISSE 2023 is expected to drive the MSME landscape in Indonesia to scale up their businesses.
In his keynote speech, the Chairman and CEO of Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) Franky Oesman Widjaya appreciated Desty for initiating in the ISSE 2023. Also serving as Coordinating Vice Chairman for Economic Affairs at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Franky conveyed that the event is aligned with Kadin’s program named the Inclusive Closed Loop program which facilitates MSMEs to take benefit of what big companies have obtained.
“MSMEs, apart from being offline, are also expected to use more technology as a whole, moreover there is mentoring for MSMEs,” Franky voiced at the opening ceremony of ISSE 2023 at ICE BSD, Banten (08/29).
Delivering his remarks virtually, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno invites the public to reflect on the role of the MSME industry which has a unique appeal that is generated through a touch of creativity.
“Creativity is not only about making your business stand out but also about creating unique solutions and facing change with fresh and new ideas. MSMEs that innovate have higher competitiveness and are able to take advantage of new opportunities in the digital era,” Sandiaga said.
ISSE as an ecosystem that helps MSME branding
Meanwhile, Assistant Deputy for Partnership and Market Expansion at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) Fixy saw this event as an ecosystem that would help MSMEs, primarily with branding issues. According to him, many MSMEs are less concerned with branding, although branding is an invaluable intangible asset.
By joining the ecosystem created by Desty and other platforms at the event, MSME players can obtain assistance from diverse experts in the digitalization field. “If MSMEs can take advantage of that, they don’t need to worry anymore about branding and marketing. Thus, they can focus on production as there are already other teams that have expertise,” Fixy said at the opening ceremony of ISSE 2023 (08/29).
Further, the co-founder and CEO of Desty, Mulyono said, many MSMEs had difficulty surviving during the pandemic. However, Indonesia’s economy has recovered the fastest after the pandemic among other countries. This is due to the principle of mutual cooperation and the speed of digital adaptation which is the foundation of MSMEs in Indonesia. To achieve Golden Indonesia 2045, population and natural resource bonuses alone are not sufficient, he emphasized the need for mutual cooperation in the implementation of digital technology.
“An idea and a strong desire arose to provide a forum based on a technology system for MSMEs in Indonesia to support not only how to start a business, but also to scale up businesses with sustainable growth. The purpose of this idea is clear, to create an ecosystem by forming a platform for sharing knowledge and inspiration,” Mulyono said.
