These 2 Startups Develop Products to Empower Indonesian MSMEs

The number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia continues to grow every year. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that there were a total of 62.9 million MSMEs in 2017. 

Then, this number increased to 64.2 million MSMEs in 2018. Over time, the number of MSMEs continues to increase in terms of quantity along with the rapid digital transformation in the country. 

However, with the increasing number of MSMEs, the challenges they face are also increasingly complex. Some of the challenges faced include the lack of competence that makes it difficult to compete and the lack of facilities as a space to develop.

These two problems turned out to be quite troubling for some of Indonesia’s young generation. Starting from that anxiety and concern, some of them also established startup companies that focus on empowering MSMEs.

The two startups are PTS.sc and Woobiz. Both are two of the 20 startups selected in the first batch of Startup Studio Indonesia’s intensive incubation program.

Startup Studio Indonesia is a program organized by the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemkominfo) to advance the startup ecosystem by providing access facilities for early-stage startups in developing their business potential.

First launched in September 2020, the first batch of Startup Studio Indonesia has mentored and coached 20 selected national startups that were screened from around 668 startups.

Get to know PTS.sc

Compliance with government regulatory standards, lack of effectiveness of workshops or training, and problems in defining core competencies are some of the obstacles that are often faced by MSME actors.

On that basis, three young Indonesians consisting of Dipta Imanto, Adrian Gilrandy, and Mohammad Fahrul were touched to help SMEs. Finally, they founded a startup with the name PTS.sc.

PTS.sc Co-Founder Adrian Gilrandy said, PTS.sc focuses on developing direct-to-customer (D2C) products by providing end-to-end supply chain solutions that include sourcing and production, supply chain optimization, market integration, raw material management, quality control, and long distance delivery.

“The MSME landscape in Indonesia is basically divided into two. First, MSMEs are established based on their competencies, such as design and marketing. However, on the other hand they have problems in terms of production and managing their product inventory,” said Agil, Tuesday (15/6/2021).

There are MSMEs who are experts in production, but it is difficult to find a sales strategy to the market.

The services offered by PTS.sc include three main pillars. First, sourcing and production, which provides an extensive supplier network to support MSME partners in producing quality products according to market needs.

Second, logistics and fulfillment to optimize operational and inventory efficiency by using an integrated automate warehousing system.

Third, order management which provides comprehensive insight and analysis of sales data and market penetration for making well-targeted business decisions.

Until now, PTS.sc has been trusted by more than 100 brands that become customers and has more than 1,000 supplier and manufacturing partners.

PTS.sc also posted revenue growth of 15-20 percent month-of-month (MoM) and more than 100 percent year-of-year (YoY) organically.

Helping through Woobiz

In addition to problems in terms of competence, not a few MSME actors in Indonesia also face capital problems to start a business.

Departing from these problems, Woobiz is here to create social commerce that can empower individuals and equalize access to income in the era of the digital economy.

For information, Woobiz was founded in early 2019 by Putri Noor Shaqina and Rorian Pratyaksa. They focus on providing facilities to individuals who want to become micro-entrepreneurs.

Woobiz Co-Founder Shaqina said that his party has a vision and mission to improve the regional economy and bring opportunities for everyone, especially women.

“Millions of women in Indonesia have lower middle income. This is what inspired us to build Woobiz. As a sales agent platform, we provide solutions for those who need facilities to earn additional income by selling and building a business,” said Shaqina.

The hope, continued Shaqina, is that Woobiz can help Indonesian women become more independent and earn their own income.