Go DIGITAL! Women Digipreneurs of Wakatobi and Flores

Sustainable tourism, Labour market insertion
30.03.2022
The Sustainable Tourism Destination Development (SUSTOUR) Project aims to foster inclusive and sustainable tourism development in the destinations of Flores and Wakatobi to strengthen their long-term competitiveness. SUSTOUR is implemented by Swisscontact financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and led jointly in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia.

It is reported that out of 65 million Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSME) in Indonesia, 64.5% are managed by women entrepreneurs (Ministry of Cooperative and SME, 2021). This is higher than the global average rate of 8% (Katadata, 2020).  

"The Krealogi application, which can be downloaded by Android users, offers friendly features for women entrepreneurs who are just starting a business in the fields of crafts, fashion, and food and beverages. This application includes order and inventory recording features. That being said, Du’Anyam trains MSMEs to send orders to customers digitally and efficiently, for them to achieve repeat orders. This is one of the implementations of transforming digital literacy of MSME owners,"

Davit Manalu, Krealogi Project Manager.

Although women have participated actively to develop the Indonesian economy, often the entrepreneurs do not yet have the required skills to do business according to market demands and grow their business sustainably.

Ibu Dasmin from Kahianga Village in Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi. Photo Credits: Dudi Gois from BUMDes Kahianga 

A partnership to support MSMEs adapt to market needs

SUSTOUR has partnered with Du’Anyam, a social enterprise that produces & supplies high-quality, functional crafts, to empower women, promote culture & improve health & livelihoods in rural Indonesia.

SUSTOUR and Du’Anyam believe that MSMEs should be prepared to be more adaptive with market needs in the face of rapid social, cultural, and technological advances. Not only within the current industrial and business world, also the rapidly changing future demands entrepreneurs to prepare for digital skills and literacy.

Therefore, SUSTOUR and Du Anyam have worked to connect dedicated local weaving craft MSMEs in Wakatobi and Flores to the wholesale market through technology and building their capacities through training and coaching on business management, product development, quality control and materials selection.

Promote the creation of innovative products for tourism

Weaving is an old, traditional skill in Indonesia. It provides opportunities as an additional home-based income which can offer economic resilience through extra income over the year. While weaving has been a traditional skill, producing weaving crafts that are in line with consumer demands requires consistent and high-quality standards.

In 2021, together with SUSTOUR, Du’Anyam has provided training and coaching in 12 basic business modules on supply chain management to increase the capacity of 19 targeted MSMEs in Wakatobi and Labuan Bajo, Flores. These include product quality, production planning, packaging, shipping, sustainable supply chains and many more. Subsequently, Du’Anyam also offered design and marketing consultation for product innovation. Through the process, the women entrepreneurs learned how to produce innovative products according to market needs.

Weaving coaster crafts by MSMEs from Wakatobi & Flores 

A digital platform to manage supply chains

The training taught them about the importance of market research as base for product development. The entrepreneurs followed through with new product designs, applying new marketing tools such as in the form of catalogues, and conducting active marketing through pitching and storytelling. Moreover, the MSMEs were trained in the usage of a digital platform named “Krealogi”.  

The android-based application helps them to manage supply chains which enables to share real-time production statuses. Through the Krealogi mobile application, the entrepreneurs can allocate orders, track real time production progress per order, record production quantity, quality and payment, and as such increase customer satisfaction through data driven production planning and regular monitoring. The app also records costs to improve financial reporting and planning, including comprehensive cost recordings. The application basically offers a practical solution to handle daily business.

Weaving fruit basket crafts by MSMEs from Wakatobi & Flores 

In Wakatobi, in 2021, the MSME entrepreneurs were able to develop or improve more than 20 products and sell them to the local and regional market, generating an income increase of more than 800% as compared to their sales in the second semester of 2020.

Some interesting facts about SME and women entrepreneurs in Indonesia and story about Ibu Dasmin from Kahianga village, Wakatobi on digital literacy for her business can be found through these links:

Krealogi Linkedin Post: 3 facts about women and MSME in Indonesia

Krealogi Linkedin Post for international women's day

Indonesia
Sustainable tourism
Sustainable Tourism Destination Development
Tourism is an important part of the Indonesian economy and a significant source of employment and foreign exchange earnings.Recognizing the potential of tourism as driver for economic development and inclusive growth, since 2009, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has actively supported the Ministry of Tourism & Creative...