Promoting market access for small and medium enterprises is a core priority for UNDP, particularly in light of the current economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2018, SMEs account for 99.99% of all Indonesian enterprises; they employ 97% of the total workforce and contribute about 60% to its GDP, constituting Indonesia’s economy’s backbone. 

Nevertheless, they participate minimally in public tenders due to the lack of understanding of procurement bidding processes. The introduction of the new regulation in Indonesia mandates that the SME sector should award 40% of procurement contracts. An event that puts pressure on the Government to ensure that SMEs receive proper guidance and knowledge when accessing the bids. 

In collaboration with the National of Public Procurement Agency of Indonesia (LKPP), UNDP has developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to improve the capacity of SMEs to access the e-procurement system, providing practical guidance to participate in the bids. On 10 November, UNDP organized an online conference to launch the MOOC involving key stakeholders in a joint effort to explain and promote this valuable resource for companies. 

168 public and private sector participants attended the event, including LKPP, small businesses supplier and cooperatives, civil society organizations, KADIN (Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs and others. Ginny Ferson, First Secretary of the UK Embassy in Indonesia, provided opening remarks.

The event provided practical guidance on how to participate in government bidding to consolidate key relevant resources for the audience in this domain and invite and encourage companies to participate and be persistent in this endeavour. 

Watch the recording here.

Related content