Women Mastering the Creative Economy: A Key to Success

Fabric weavers at the Indonesian Pavilion at the IMF-World Bank Group 2018 Annual Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Monday (10/08/2018). A total of 150 MSMEs from 64 districts / cities throughout Indonesia displayed their handicrafts at the 2018 IMF-World Bank Group annual event. - (Antara photos)

“Strict men are considered firm, while women who are strict are suspected to be having premenstrual syndromes," said the Co-Founder of venture capital company Instellar, Dian Wulandari jokingly.



Dian explained that the majority of creative economy businesses are still at the level of micro businesses. Unfortunately, as many as 80 percent of women still work in the informal sector so that the income earned is not optimal. The creative economy business which is led by women still has problems in scaling up or increasing the business size.



Even though the data shows that Indonesian female workers continue to dominate in the creative economy, data from the Indonesian Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) and the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) from 2011-2016 stated that the proportion of female workers compared to men continues to increase. The role of women in the creative economy was originally 52.33 percent (7.03 million) of the total creative workers in 2011, then increased to 55.74 percent (9.42 million) in 2016.



When attending the event entitled "Scaling Up Women Entrepreneur" which was held in early March in Jakarta, Dian explained the causes of women having difficulty raising their business. First, access to knowledge to women is not as easy as that to their male counterparts. Women often experience a double burden in the household, making it difficult to spend time accessing new skills and knowledge.



Second, women entrepreneurs are more difficult to access capital because of the lack of collateral. Third, many female entrepreneurs are not confident. They do not dare to take up many orders. The next problem is the gender bias experienced by women.



The contribution of the creative economy to Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) also continues to grow. Starting from Rp. 581.54 trillion in 2011, to Rp. 922.59 in 2016 and is projected to reach more than Rp. 1,200 trillion in 2019. The involvement of female businessmen is considered as a determinant factor in the increased GDP.



For this reason, Dian suggested that women entrepreneurs choose mentors among women because they are more experienced in facing similar challenges. Another solution, Dian encouraged women entrepreneurs to be confident in their own abilities that what they do was beneficial for the people around them.



"Businesswomen, when doing business, are not only thinking about themselves but also educating others. Therefore, they must be sure of their own abilities, "said Dian.



Patamar Capital's partner, Dondi Hananto, said that the mistrust of women entrepreneurs often makes capital providers unsure about working together. In fact, based on Dondi's experience, female entrepreneurs were more responsible when making profit-sharing payments compared to male entrepreneurs.



"When there are difficulties, women can still be invited to find a joint solution, while many men just want to run away or you simply cannot find them," said Dondi.



Regarding business, Dondi advised women to take any business field whose consumers are influenced by women's decisions. Women entrepreneurs will be flexible in doing business if they understand the needs of prospective buyers.



The owner of the Adraworld clothing brand, Hayuning Sumbadra, said business mentors were the starting point for him to reach a number of accesses to increase the scale of business. She advised women businesses not to give up quickly and diligently look for new opportunities.



"Don't just make promotion to people near you: you must have the courage to find opportunities outside our social circles," said Adra.



Government Support for Women Micro Entrepreneurs

President Joko Widodo hopes that more micro-entrepreneurs will succeed in developing their business size. The government has made a program of assistance for small entrepreneurs such as Ultra Micro Financing (UMi) and Madani National Permodalan Fostering the Economy of Prosperous Families (PNM Mekaar).



"If it has developed, it can be transferred to KUR (People's Business Credit) because the funding provided can be up to Rp. 500 million," President Jokowi said in a press release dated March 1, 2019.



Mekaar is a financing service based on groups of underprivileged women. The service provides financial assistance in the amount of Rp. 2 million to Rp. 5 million, which is given in stages without collateral. This program has been rolled out since 2015. Until 2018, the number of underprivileged women targeted by this program is 4,057,000.



The funding of UMi targets micro businesses that cannot yet be facilitated by banks. UMi provides a maximum financing facility of Rp10 million per customer and is channeled by Non-Bank Financial Institutions (LKBB). The Ministry of Finance prepares funds of up to Rp. 7 trillion for the UMi program.



One successful example of UMi recipients is Siti Khadijah, a resident of Mekar Sari, Bogor. Initially, she sold vegetables and kitchen needs. However, the business is less developed because of the many competitors and consumers who prefer to buy cooked dishes rather than cooking themselves.



Finally, Siti decided to sell nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk) at night. However, she had difficulty applying for a capital loan to the bank. Through UMI, Siti received an initial capital of Rp. 1 million which then continued to grow along with the development of the stall. Siti's business develops and is able to get Rp 300,000 in net income per day.



"Alhamdulillah, we have been able to build new houses, own vehicles, and send children to school," she said, as quoted from the official website of the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.



Micro-assistance is a step for the government to create inclusive employment opportunities for women while developing micro-enterprises that support the Indonesian economy. McKinsey & Company projects Indonesia can increase Gross Domestic Product by USD 135 billion by 2025 if it can encourage women's equality in the contribution of economic development.



The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) also supports inclusive economic development for vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities and women. Through the Indonesia Development Forum (IDF), Bappenas recruited inputs based on research data and good practices. This international forum will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center on 22-23 July 2019. The theme raised is ‘Mission Possible:  Seizing the Opportunities of Future Work to Drive Inclusive Growth’.**