Jakarta, 9 December 2022. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata), through the Sisternet program, is again holding a Smart Webinar Festival (FWP), on 9-10 December 2022. This training activity aims to prepare women MSME owners in Indonesia to be able to face the challenges that will occur in 2023, as well as to provide information about various opportunities that exist through the required training classes. More than 3,000 participants from various regions will take part in this hybrid webinar and workshop. The 2022 Smart Webinar Festival program has received support from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs and the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection of the Republic of Indonesia.
The Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, Bintang Puspayoga appreciated the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival which targeted women managing MSMEs. Hopefully, this forum can facilitate collaboration between stakeholders in building a conducive environment for women to support the Indonesian economy. In facing the current global economic uncertainty, it is important for all parties to get closer to building economic synergies.
"It is necessary for us to recognize and explore the potential and strengths possessed by women. That amid an economic slowdown, society can survive because of economic activities driven by female MSME actors. The existence of an information and communication technology revolution will make it easier for all of us to increase capacity, expertise, and the ability of women to build their economic businesses and build women's economic networks."
Bintang said, based on BPS 2021 data, the percentage of female internet users in 2021 was 47.08% while it was 52.52% for men, and in general the percentage of women who owned cell phones was 60.58% lower than men. The number of women graduating from high-level STEM in Indonesia is also only 37% compared to 63% of male graduates.
On the other hand, continued Bintang, women currently occupy a superior position in entrepreneurship. Based on the latest data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, it is noted that out of a total of 65.5 million MSMEs in Indonesia, 64 million are micro-enterprises where more than half are owned and managed by women. Therefore, women have a role in the national economic recovery which is currently at a new level.
To support the role of women in realizing the economy, communication and information technology infrastructure is needed as well as human resources who are capable and have high digital literacy and financial literacy. Therefore, training for small and micro-entrepreneurs is very important to develop.
The Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs, Teten Masduki appreciated the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival which targeted women managing MSMEs. According to him, the training program from XL Axiata and Sisternet is in line with the fact that 64.5% of MSMEs in Indonesia are run by women. According to him, the government is creating a good ecosystem for national entrepreneurship with a target of 1 million new established entrepreneurs in 2022.
Teten said, "Hopefully this effort can be the same spirit of synergy with XL Axiata and all stakeholders. I hope that various good discussions can be created at the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival, so that new innovators and aggregators can emerge in encouraging the birth of women entrepreneurs in this country. I welcome the kick-off of the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival training which is also a campaign for 1 million Indonesian womenpreneurs so they can go digital and be upgraded in 2023.”
Teten added that digital transformation as a whole is very important in advancing women entrepreneurs so that they have competitiveness in the digital era. Indonesian womenpreneurs must be prepared so that later they can fully optimize the potential of the digital economy which is projected to be IDR 4,531 trillion in 2030. According to him, the program initiated by Sisternet and XL Axiata is also in line with the direction of the President of the Republic of Indonesia in encouraging 30 million MSMEs to be connected in the digital ecosystem in 2024.
President Director & CEO of XL Axiata, Dian Siswarini, said, "Through the Sisternet program, I am committed to supporting Indonesian women to have the same rights as men, especially in the field of digital technology and must have digital literacy skills to be ready to face economic conditions that are not easy at this moment. Therefore, the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival is also our means to equip female MSMEs owners through relevant and needed training so that they are more resilient and still able to take advantage of the potential and opportunities that exist in 2023."
Dian added, since its emergence in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had many impacts on almost all sectors in life. Coupled with the occurrence of political crises in several countries, the world economy is now in a slump and is threatened with an economic recession that will affect the whole world, including Indonesia. One of the things to worry about is reducing the level of people's purchasing power. All of this will more or less affect the performance of the MSMEs business, which is also a concern for XL Axiata.
During the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival, XL Axiata provided 15 training classes for MSMEs through a free webinar with 25 expert speakers. The speakers included Ligwina Hananto, Analisa Widyaningrum, Linda Anggrea, Nicky Clara, and Sisternet's SMEs.
The MSME training topics and materials in this Smart Webinar Festival are generally about business management which will become a trend in 2023. In more detail, the training materials cover digital marketing, personal and product branding, product innovation, financial management, customer behavior, product packaging, product photos, and certifications.
Training in the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival is also in the form of workshop classes that allow MSME owner participants to practice it immediately, such as photography workshops, social media branding, and product packaging. The types of webinars and workshop classes are tailored to the needs of most MSMEs.
Data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs shows that out of a total of 64 million MSMEs in Indonesia, only 17.25 million or approximately 26.5% of MSMEs are connected to the digital ecosystem. In fact, one of the solutions to be able to deal with the potential for an economic recession is to increase promotion to a wider market. Therefore, the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival also presents webinars and workshops on digital marketing as a means of training for MSME owners.
In this Smart Webinar Festival, Sisternet also invited MSMEs with disabilities. Through this training program, they can start increasing their business level. There are as many as 50 female MSMEs with disabilities participating in this program.
"We see that if there is an economic crisis or recession, women with disabilities are one of the groups in society that are most vulnerable to being directly affected. Therefore, the Smart Webinar Festival specifically invites participants from among women with disabilities who have MSMEs," Dian added.
One of the speakers at the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival who is also the Indonesian Minister of Trade for the 2011-2014 period, Gita Wirjawan, added, in facing a potential recession, womenpreneurs should continue to increase their agility so they can continue to survive in the uncertain world conditions going forward. In addition, womenpreneurs must continue to increase productivity, innovate, get closer to consumers and continuously streamline costs.
"They also have to be sensitive and embrace real digital technology disruptions so that in the future the benefits and welfare distribution will increase. I personally am still optimistic that the recession that is predicted to occur in 2023 will not be as bad as imagined, but we must remain alert to deal with it," continued Gita Wirjawan.
Smart Capital Competition
The 2022 Smart Webinar Festival will also hold a Smart Capital Competition. This competition is a business incubation program or coaching for MSMEs. The participants will receive capital prizes as well as mentoring incubation classes that will be provided by Sisternet. To be able to take part in the Smart Capital Competition, participants of the 2022 Smart Webinar Festival are required to attend all series of training classes or webinars and submit business plan articles for the next five years.
In the early stages, participants of the Smart Webinar Festival may take part in the Smart Capital Competition incubation program. Selection will be carried out to recruit potential MSME participants who can proceed to the next stage of selection. Only 10 participants will be selected to get a capital prize of IDR 200,000,000 million and business incubation and assistance for 2 months.
The 2022 Smart Webinar Festival is the third time it has been held. During the 2021 implementation, this business training program was attended by around 120 female participants and MSME owners from various regions in Indonesia. A Smart Capital Competition was also held, with 5 participants becoming the winners. This program also received support from the Indonesian Ministry of Women's Empowerment & Child Protection.