Bukalapak Holds Several Programs to Support Female MSMEs Players

Bukalapak is holding a number of programs to advance the capabilities of women’s MSMEs in Indonesia as part of this year’s Kartini Day celebrations. The hope is that with this initiative, female MSME players can compete in an increasingly competitive digital market.

In this program, Bukalapak in collaboration with UN Women Indonesia held an inspirational online talk event entitled ‘Bukalapak’s Strategy to Support Local Products’ Kartini. This event itself is also part of the company’s Local Wednesday program.

Through the event that was held on Instagram Live, Bukalapak invited women entrepreneurs and representatives of UN Women Indonesia. Through this event, the company also implements WEP (Women’s Empowerment Principles).

To note, the WEP is a set of guiding principles for companies on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and corporate community.

“As an e-commerce that grows domestically, Bukalapak will always present and develop a safe and comfortable technology platform to encourage the potential of small and medium enterprises, including of course women MSMEs,” said VP of Corporate Affairs Bukalapak Siti. Sufintri Rahayu in an official statement received on Thursday (22/4/2021).

This program, according to Siti, is also a form of Bukalapak’s commitment to empower Indonesian business actors who are the backbone of the economy as well as contribute to increasing economic inclusion by empowering the surrounding environment.

Bukalapak also regularly holds educational sessions for women entrepreneurs through the Bukapalak Community Srikandi Webinar. This event was held in line with data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small & Medium Enterprises.

Kemenkop UKM stated that more than 50 percent of MSMEs are owned by women. Therefore, women business owners need to be continuously empowered to increase their potential, which also means strengthening the resilience of Indonesian MSMEs.

Bukalapak Collaborates with Modal Rakyat, Presenting Finance Service for MSMEs

Previously, Bukalapak in collaboration with People’s Capital had just opened financing opportunities for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for the ecosystem network in BukaPengadaan.

This collaboration provides additional financing options for partners of BukaPengadaan, as well as supporting the growth of MSMEs in Indonesia.

Through this collaboration, BukaPengadaan dan Modal Rakyat wants to help MSMEs grow without having to worry about limited cash flow problems so that business growth can grow rapidly.

The joining of People’s Capital to the e-procurement funding sector is at the same time a strategic step in building inclusiveness in Indonesia’s financing. Currently, People’s Capital has three funding schemes, namely Business Capital, Multipurpose Capital, and Micro Capital.

Optimistic that Online Transactions will Increase ahead of Eid

The e-commerce business is getting better, this is due to a shift in consumer behavior patterns to the online realm as a result of the pandemic. So that it can encourage and become the key to national economic recovery.

Meanwhile, e-commerce competition in Indonesia is also getting tougher, this is because various e-commerce presents various attractive promos to hook the market in Indonesia.

Ruth Retno Dewi, Head of Category Management at Bukalapak said that in seeing the competition in the e-commerce business in Indonesia, Bukalapak is trying to create various initiatives and programs so that MSME players can further maximize sales on the Bukalapak platform.

In addition, Bukalapak also presents products and services that make it easier for consumers and answer market needs. For example, by increasing SKUs and programs that suit people’s needs, such as lifestyle, sports, gardening, hobbies, electronics to virtual products that can be accessed easily and safely.

Meanwhile, regarding the government’s plan to prepare a budget of IDR 500 billion to encourage consumption ahead of Eid, Ruth said that Bukalapak always supports all government efforts to support online transaction activities and help the resilience of the MSME business.