The Ministry of Trade signed a program cooperation agreement titled ‘Aku Siap Ekspor’ to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) entering the international market. The 'I'm Ready to Export' program is an abbreviation of 'Acceleration of Small and Medium Enterprises/Small Industries and Medium Industries Ready to Export'. The collaboration was built with the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, the National Crafts Council (Dekranas), the Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Industry Association (HIMKI), and the Business and Export Development Organization (BEDO). The signing of the cooperation was signed virtually on Friday (8/10). The Director General of National Export Development (PEN) of the Ministry of Trade Didi Sumedi is optimistic that this cooperation program will encourage an increase in product exports, especially home decoration products and small furniture.
"Through this collaboration, the Ministry of Trade and other agencies synergize to facilitate Indonesian home decoration and small furniture business players through intensive coaching so that they can enter the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and other international markets," said Didi. when giving a virtual speech at the event. Didi explained, the ‘Aku Siap Ekspor’ program is intended for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small and medium industries (IKM) to help develop marketing plans that consider the target market, so that business actors get foreign buyers. He also explained that this program is specially designed for companies that are still in the early stages of preparing for export.
The signing of the cooperation was carried out simultaneously by the Director General of National Export Development, Ministry of Trade Didi Sumedi; Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Dody Widodo; Deputy for Marketing for the Creative Economy, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Nia Niscaya; Secretary General of the National Crafts Council (Dekranas) Gati Wibawaningsih; Chairman of the Presidium of the Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Industry Association (HIMKI) Abdul Sobur; and Chairman of the Foundation for Business and Export Development (BEDO) Jeff Kristianto. “As one of the major contributors to Indonesia's economic growth, home decoration and furniture products have a very important role for Indonesia. Therefore, we see the need to increase the export competitiveness of these products," continued Didi. This signing is the culmination of a series of offline workshops themed “Product Development and Trade Fair Participation” held in Tangerang, Depok, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Bogor.
Coaching Through ‘Aku Siap Ekspor’
The ‘Aku Siap Ekspor’ program is a program for SME and IKM export development so that they can prepare export marketing plans according to the target market, so they can get foreign buyers both during exhibitions and online research. This program has been implemented since June 2021, starting with socialization to home decoration and small furniture businesses throughout Indonesia. As a result, as many as 114 selected program participants will be mentored directly by experienced trainers and mentors in the home decoration and small furniture industry who are members of Dekranas, HIMKI, and BEDO. The focus of this program is the export preparation phase. This phase includes strengthening the internal organization of SMEs, assistance in developing export strategies and plans, business practices and negotiations, as well as other supporting materials.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Dody Widodo, who was present at the signing ceremony, expressed his appreciation to all parties involved so that the ‘Aku Siap Ekspor’ program can be implemented. "We appreciate the initiation of the Ministry of Trade for the cooperation signed today, as well as to all parties involved in the program. We also congratulate the 114 business actors who were selected in the ‘Aku Siap Ekspor’ program, we hope that all participants are committed to this program so that the targets that have been set can be achieved, "said Dody. In line with Dody, the Secretary General of Dekranas Gati Wibawaningsih also expressed the hope that business actors can make the best use of the ‘Aku Siap Ekspor’ program to improve the economy of SMEs themselves and bring benefits to their surroundings. “This program is a good program that participants can use to gain knowledge in preparing themselves to enter the global market. Please make the best use of it,” said Gati.
Meanwhile, the Deputy for Marketing for the Creative Economy Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Nia Niscaya explained that home decoration products are included in the creative economy sub-sector, namely the crafts sub-sector, which has the largest contribution along with the culinary sub-sector in the economy. Nia hopes that the collaboration and synergy between these ministries/agencies can inspire other institutions to work together to support economic development through joint programs. "Indonesia is very well known abroad for products with high craftsmanship that are sourced from Indonesian culture that has been passed down from generation to generation. The increase in exports from the craft sub-sector will, of course, increase the promotion of Indonesian culture," said Nia. The Director of Export Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Trade, Marolop Nainggolan, hopes that the knowledge gained by participating SMEs from this program will be useful in doubling the export performance of SMEs. "It is hoped that with the ‘Aku Siap Ekspor’ program, Indonesian home decoration and small furniture business actors can gain knowledge to be able to export their products to international markets from the experts involved and increase their turnover three times," said Marolop.
