IDF Aims to Become Discussion Hub for the Benefit of Indonesia’s Future

JAKARTA – The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly slowed down Indonesia’s domestic economic growth. In 2020, the Indonesian economy contracted by 2.1% due to a decrease in public and business activities, resulting in supply chain disruptions and a decrease in industrial utilization rates, which contribute to low job creation and slowing down industrial added value growth. 

These conditions show that Indonesia will face considerable industrial development challenges in the years ahead.

As part of the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas’ plans to hold the 2021 Indonesia Development Forum, the ministry will hold several events leading up to the main event to stimulate insightful discussions on Indonesia’s industrial future. One of these events is the Bincang Santai IDF 2021 “Mengenal IDF Lebih Dalam” online webinar held on Wednesday (28/4).

The ministry’s director for macro planning and statistical analysis Eka Chandra Buana said that the active involvement of younger minds in the IDF is crucial to help develop Indonesia’s future industrialization strategies and fulfill its goals by 2045.

“These events will involve several former IDF participants from previous years. They will share their experiences at the IDF and will bridge discussions on the 2021 IDF’s main topics and its subthemes in coordinated sharing sessions that hope to provide attendees with clear, conceptual and substantial information on this year’s themes,” Chandra said.

Environmental economist and Think Policy Society co-founder Andhyta Firselly Utami, a speaker at IDF 2018, explains that the post-pandemic period can provide valuable momentum for Indonesia to begin adapting ‘green’ policies in its economic growth planning. This is because green approaches have the capability to improve Indonesia’s competitiveness in the international context.

“The pandemic has shown us that we are able to do things more efficiently with less. In fact, a World Bank report recently showed that many jobs in Indonesia can be successfully done from home, thereby highlighting the success of work-from-home schemes in Indonesia. Many of those jobs are government jobs. It shows that we were able to get so much out of so little,” Andhyta said.

Meanwhile, Rahma Iryanti, the secretariat of Bappenas’ Development Assistance Strategic Coordination Team (TKSP3), added that the government has issued several stimulus packages to help maintain the economy such as micro-credit loan interest rate subsidies for micro-to-small-to-medium scale businesses (UMKM) and easier access to funding for cooperatives.

“According to a survey of 25,000 microbusinesses held by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), they found that 6 out of 10 respondents were currently active businesses. Classic issues are still there though. We found that many microbusinesses lack proper business planning and financial management awareness,” said Rahma, who is also the head coordinator for the first IDF in 2017.

Government stimulus packages have been felt as far as East Nusa Tenggara, according to East Nusa Tenggara resident and Timor Moringa CEO and founder Meybi Agnesya. The Moringa plant businesswoman revealed that her business managed to grow positively during the pandemic.

“It’s because many people are becoming more aware of their health and the importance of maintaining their immune systems during this pandemic,” the former IDF participant said.

She added that this pandemic has pushed the need for many to adopt more creative approaches and become more aware of digital methods in order to sustain their businesses. The herbal product salesperson claims that she has begun to rely on digital marketplaces and social media to sell her wares as she previously solely relied on traditional brick-and-mortar means. 

“Turns out, [going digital] expanded my market! I’ve now received orders as far as Sumatera!” she explained.

Through several interactive discussion sessions, the IDF aims to encourage diverse approaches in tackling Indonesia’s main development challenges. Challenges related to industrial development and its future prospects will be the central themes of IDF 2021.

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