FEB Unud Collaborates with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia and Tokopedia to Hold a "Tokopedia Digiconnext" Study in the Bali Region

The Faculty of Economics and Business of Udayana University (FEB Unud) collaborated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia and Tokopedia in organizing the study "Building Digital Capabilities of Competitive MSMEs in the Region" in the Bali region. This study is motivated by inclusive development being a very important focus, especially in achieving digitalization, including the target of 30 million MSMEs going digital in 2024 set through the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs. Despite this, digital empowerment is still quite low, even in areas with good digital infrastructure and literacy. Coupled with the uneven digital skills between regions, there are still few micro and small enterprises (MSEs) that utilize digital technology. In fact, areas with good digital infrastructure and literacy have high digitalization potential, including Bali Province. In answering this issue, a collaboration between FEB Unud, CSIS, and Tokopedia held a public discussion to disseminate research results with the idea of "Building Digital Capabilities of Competitive and Inclusive MSEs (Micro and Small Enterprises) in the Region." The public discussion was held with the aim of sharing the preliminary results of the study on the condition of digital skills and the opportunities and challenges of digital entrepreneurship in Badung Regency, Bali. This "Tokopedia Digiconnext" study also serves as a forum for exchanging ideas and feedback.

The public discussion was attended by Gede Nandya Oktora, P.S.E., MBA, CRA, CRP, as the coordinator of the collaboration team of this study for the Bali region, who is also an academician of FEB Unud, and was attended by collaborators from Seller Champion Tokopedia, Wiko Wikarta, and CSIS Department of Economics Researcher Dandy Rafitrandi, S.E., M.Sc. In addition, the public discussion event was also attended by a number of stakeholders. The Bali Province Cooperatives and SMEs Office was attended by Drs. A.A. Ngurah Agung Satrya Diana, M.H., and the Expert Economist of the KEKDA Formulation of the Bali Province Representative Office of Bank Indonesia, Andy Setyo.

This series of studies began with the implementation of surveys conducted online and face-to-face in Yogyakarta City, Badung Regency, and Surabaya City. Based on the results of the survey that has been conducted, a general picture can be drawn that access to digital infrastructure for MSEs is quite good in the Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Badung areas. However, it is still necessary to increase training programs and entrepreneurial classes from the government as well as collaboration with educational institutions and the private sector to improve the competitiveness of MSEs, starting with financial bookkeeping training, digital learning and curriculum, and access to network capital (community). The results of the survey were then brought to the FGD and public discussion for a more in-depth discussion.

The FGD aims to strengthen the research findings, where access and utilization of digital services by MSEs are currently not sufficiently inclusive and competitive. Based on the results of discussions in the FGD, it was found that holistic human, process, and technology aspects are needed in the MSE digitalization process, so that the optimization of its development in public policy schemes must continue to be encouraged. In addition, the FGD results also found that uneven internet accessibility and digital services are still the biggest challenges faced by MSEs in rural areas due to inadequate internet access and internet infrastructure. Therefore, adequate MSE digitalization development strategies are needed to be implemented, including the development of strategy coverage, both in terms of quantity and MSE sectors that can be empowered.

 

In addition to FGDs, public discussions were also held to deepen the study results as well as research dissemination. Based on the public discussion sessions that have been held, it is known that the development of the entrepreneurial spirit at the educational institution level requires the creativity of teaching staff in designing a more practical application of the entrepreneurship curriculum for students, for example, by implementing project-based learning. On the other hand, the implementation of the go-to-online strategy is still a challenge in the development of MSEs, along with the technical and human resource challenges that MSEs must also face in digitizing. Moreover, the lack of digital literacy owned by MSEs makes the inclusiveness of the available digital infrastructure less than optimal. For this reason, it is necessary to continue to intensify efforts to encourage digital literacy and inclusion as the core of the MSE digitization process.

The implementation of this activity is expected to enrich the study collaboration between Udayana University and research institutions in providing recommendations to the government and related policymakers to improve the welfare of MSEs through the use of digital platforms. It is also expected that this study can be a proactive initiative as a venue for collaboration between stakeholders in answering problems and improving MSE strategies. Then, digitalization of MSEs is also expected to be applied and improved in all regions and cities, not only in Bali but also in Indonesia, so that there will be sustainability of collaboration and other cooperation to follow up on the results of this study, said Futy Ichiradinda M., as Project Research Assistant at CSIS Indonesia.