UNS — Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta faculty member, Tastaftiyan Risfandy, S.E., M.Sc, Ph.D., successfully won the Research Grant Bank Indonesia (RGBI) 2021. Tastaftiyan won over 1,334 international applicants and received a Bank Indonesia research grant for MSME topic.
RGBI is an international research competition grant from Bank Indonesia. The funding is provided annually under a specific topic each year. In 2021, Tastaftiyan won the grant under “Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Development: the Role of Digitalization in MSME Sector” topic. Tastaftiyan stated that he and his team felt honored to bring UNS proud name in the national RGBI competition and was announced as the winner. “This is the first time we win this RGBI competition,” he said to the uns.ac.id team on Tuesday (3/5/2021).
Even though this is his first time winning RGBI, the PUI-PT Center for Fintech and Banking UNS (UNS Fintech Center) member stated that he participated in several research projects with policymakers in the Indonesian banking industry, such as Bank Indonesia (BI), Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (IDIC), and Financial Service Authority (OJK). In his RGBI research proposal, Tastaftiyan has a three-member team, himself as research team leader, and Prof. Dr. Mansor Ibrahim (International Center for Education in Islamic Finance/INCEIF-Malaysia) and Inas Nurfadia Futri, S.M. (UNS) and research team members.
Tastaftiyan research proposal focuses on the role of digital finance in maximizing the potential of Indonesian consumption, especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the Indonesian economy experiences a contraction due to the decrease in people’s consumption activities both at household and MSMEs. As consumption contributes to Indonesian economic growth, Tastaftiyan’s study aims to establish the connection between the digital economy in increasing people’s financial activities. The research focuses on digital payment, digital investment, and digital funding as the proxy of the digital economy.
Tastaftiyan’s study is expected to provide a suggestion for Indonesian economic authority in preparing a future policy that supports the development of digital finance in Indonesia. “In term of scientific publication, we are optimistic that our finding could be submitted to a reputable international journal indexed in Q1-Q2 Scopus, which is also the requirement of RGBI grant,” Tastaftiyan added.
Congratulation to the researchers for winning the research grant as one of the Higher Education Tri Dharma implementations. Humas UNS
Reporter: Ida Fitriyah
Editor: Dwi Hastuti