UNS — The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) is one of the sectors affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic. The impact was in the form of an 84.20% decline in income. At the same time, the Medium-Large Enterprise also experienced an 82.29% decline in its revenue. This phenomenon makes MSME reduces its workforce to maintain production.
A Faculty Member of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UNS, Nurul Istiqomah stated that based on the data, the level of layoffs in Micro and Small Enterprise is 33.23%, while in Medium-Large Enterprise is 46.64%. Besides, Indonesia Statistics (BPS) in August 2020 reported that Indonesia’s unemployment rate increased by 2.67 million people. The increase in unemployment leads to a fall in Indonesia’s economic growth, which reached 3.49% in the third quarter.
“To move the MSME amid the Covid-19 pandemic, there are phases that need to deal with. First, rescue, a phase where economic assistance must be provided to the community and people affected by Covid-19. In this phase, the government must consider the trade-off between health and economy,” Nurul Istiqomah explained to uns.ac.id on Thursday (31/12/2020).
Nurul continued with the explanation on the second phase. In this stage, the community can work as usual by implementing health protocols. There is a shift from fear into awareness in this phase and marked by increased technology-assisted activities. The next phase is recovery when the community reconciled with Covid-19 and performed all their activities with the new normal pattern. “Therefore, there is an important point that needs to be built by MSME and related stakeholders,” she added.
The first important point that needs to be performed by MSME is building a strong institutional system as the primary foundation. This point can be implemented by joining an association or business group. The affiliation of MSMEs in a group can facilitate information acquisition from the upstream to downstream. The second point is to be adaptive to technology. Based on her observation in several regions, MSME that marketed their products online tends not to experience a significant decline in their income and maintain their market share. “This is because the potential of internet users in Indonesia has reached 196.7 million people,” Nurul explained. The last point is product diversification to make their product get absorbed into the market, especially for products to increase body immunity.
The active role of stakeholders is needed to realize these points. It is starting from the government by assisting MSMEs is an essential step in reviving the MSMEs. The aspect that needs to be evaluated in the future regarding the distribution of governmental aids is its speed, accuracy, and priority of assistance. Nurul also stated that the community has a role in improving MSME immunity through the supervision on the distribution of the aid to prevent fraud. On the other hand, MSMEs also need assistance to develop a strategy in facing the pandemic. MSMEs’ basic strategy is waiting for the market to move and produce after receiving the order. “This is different from the condition before the pandemic in which they keep running the production process without waiting for orders,” Nurul said.
The business world, represented by the financial institution, also has a role in increasing economic inclusion for MSMEs. According to OJK, financial inclusion benefits improve people’s welfare, encourage national economic recovery, and support the community’s economic resilience in every condition. The last stakeholder that has a vital role in this process is the media. Media can improve economic passion by reporting news concerning MSMEs. “Media also can inform the community that MSMEs are still producing and operate during the pandemic,” Nurul explained.
Therefore, MSMEs and the economy can achieve the development stage. The economy is recovering through various community activities; economic activities, health activities, education, and cultural and social activities. If the development stage has been achieved, the growth stage in which the economy continues to grow and Indonesia can reach recovery, so that Indonesia can be revived from the pandemic. Humas UNS
Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
