MSMEs play a significant role in the recovery of the national economy. There are 64.2 million MSMEs that contribute 61 percent of Indonesia's GDP. These MSMEs provide employment for around 117 million workers, 64.5 percent of whom are female. Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection data shows 8.4 million Indonesian MSMEs (54 percent owned by women) have adopted digital technology during the pandemic.
E-commerce provides economic opportunities for women. World Bank study indicates that among all women, selling via e-commerce is highest especially among those who are primarily engaged in housework. Moreover, nearly 60 percent of internet-using women who left their previous jobs (due to pregnancy and birth) now work in e-commerce. Given that Indonesia’s female labor force participation rate remains persistently low, hovering at around 50 percent for the past decades, the increasing share of female entrepreneurs engaging in e-commerce, tripling from 2.7 percent in 2017 to 7.5 percent in 2020, is a promising avenue for more women to enter the labor force.
This fifth webinar series, in collaboration with Women’s World Banking, held exactly on International Women’s Day (IWD), will convene multi-sectoral leaders from across the private, public, and development partner spheres to discuss business digitalization to drive the growth of female businesses, primarily how to facilitate inclusive access to financial and digital education training in increasing women participation in the economy and promoting women leaders in entrepreneurship. In collaboration with Femina, the webinar aims to achieve the following:
1. Increase awareness of the importance of women MSMEs mastering digital technology for business development and increasing income;
2. Share success stories that motivate and inspire women to master digital technology as well as share information about how women can acquire digital services; and
3. Encourage multi-sectoral collaboration to increase women's capacity by mastering digital technology.
The event will be live streamed in Bahasa Indonesia and will feature English and sign language interpretation via the Zoom platform. Instructions about how participants can select their preferred language can be found here.
