Doc. by iSeller
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are one of the main drivers of the Indonesian economy. In 2022, MSMEs alone contributed to a whopping 60.5% of the country’s GDP. Unfortunately, the growth of MSMEs is still constrained by various challenges, including those pertaining to the adoption of digital technology.
Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information, only around 21 million of a total of 64 million MSMEs in Indonesia have empowered their business through digital technology. This means only 32% of MSMEs have truly gone digital in Indonesia. Building upon this situation, iSeller, one of the members of Microsoft Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact, seeks to open wider access to technology for MSMEs to grow their business easily and quickly through Microsoft Azure-based omnichannel platform services. iSeller’s efforts are carried out while prioritizing the synergy between business growth and improving environmental quality.
“Our on-ground experience indicates that one of the biggest obstacles for MSMEs is limited human resources. They (MSMEs) have many channels, but not enough people to manage them. Through iSeller services which are supported by Azure’s infrastructure, MSMEs can connect all of their channels – from online marketplaces and social media to online stores – in one single platform, according to their required scale. They can also process transactions quickly, securely, and systematically through Point of Sales solutions that serve all types of businesses. Based on our research, in average, our MSME partners have been able to gain a 163% increase in sales since increasing the effectiveness of their work through the iSeller platform,” said Jimmy Petrus, CEO & Founder of iSeller.
The realization of this platform can be seen in many forms, one of which is Lakoo, a free mobile application with user-friendly UI/UX from iSeller, which acts as an entry point for MSMEs to go digital. The application guides MSMEs with the initial steps of utilizing digital technology. Starting from creating a website quickly, transforming the manual bookkeeping system using digital cashiers, to allowing customers to make electronic payments.
Supported by Azure security system with over 100 international security certifications, monthly transactions of hundreds of thousands of MSMEs using iSeller amounting to nearly hundreds of millions of Rupiah are always secure.
“The next milestone is to optimize generative AI technology to increase the productivity of MSMEs. We are currently developing an Azure OpenAI Service-based analytics chatbot feature that later on, can be accessed on their dashboard. Through this chatbot, MSME partners can have a copilot that helps them analyze sales data; including best-selling products based on sales location, market segments that prefer a product the most, and so on. Not only that, they will also be able to utilize this technology to create product descriptions easily and quickly, while improving their customer service. We hope the innovations we are making can empower MSMEs accelerate their business development,” continued Jimmy.
Synergy of the digital economy with the environment
Besides pushing for the acceleration of the digital economy for MSMEs, iSeller also seeks to mobilize support for environmental quality in the MSME ecosystem that collaborates with iSeller.
Jimmy added, “One of the economic transformation strategies that the government has set to deal with climate change is to practice a green economy. This is a development model that encourages synergies between economic growth with social welfare and environmental quality. To participate in implementing the green economy, we choose to use environmentally friendly technology infrastructure, such as Azure which has been 100 percent carbon neutral since 2012. Using Azure allows us to improve the energy efficiency of iSeller and MSME partners, which encourages the strengthening of national ecosystems that take part in realizing Indonesia’s 2060 net zero emissions target.”
According to the Green Economy Index Report, efforts of transitioning into green economy can boost an average of 6.1-6.5% GDP growth per year until 2050, which could save 87 to 96 tons of greenhouse gas emissions during the year of 2021-2060 and reduce emission intensity by 68% in 2045. This can attest to why collaboration in running a green economy is so critical.
“It is an honor for us to support iSeller and hundreds of thousands of MSMEs from 24 provinces in Indonesia to achieve more with Microsoft’s cloud and AI technologies. This collaboration is a great step towards the development of a digital economy and green economy that is inclusive for all,” said Fiki Setiyono, Azure Business Group Lead, Microsoft Indonesia.
###