Jakarta – The government continues to encourage increased competitiveness of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through various training and empowerment programs. These efforts are realized through activities involving local governments, banks, and creative industry players to help MSMEs advance through innovation and the use of digital technology.
Lampung Deputy Governor Jihan Nurlela was the keynote speaker at a talk show and book review, part of the Lampung Begawi 2025 series at Lampung City Mall in Bandarlampung. The event featured the theme “The Government’s Role in Encouraging MSME Development to Advance and Become Competitive.”
In her remarks, Jihan emphasized the importance of MSMEs as the main pillar of Lampung’s economy, which has nearly 500 thousand business units.
“Financial capital alone is not enough. Our MSMEs need innovation, product quality, good communication, and the use of digital technology. This is both a challenge and an opportunity that we must address together,” he said.
He added that MSMEs still face several obstacles, such as limited capital and human resources, low digital literacy, and limited public trust in online transactions. Therefore, Jihan is pushing for accelerated MSME digitalization so that business actors have broader access to digital markets, financing, and business mentoring.
Jihan also touched on the enormous potential of Indonesia’s e-commerce sector, projected to reach US$109 billion by 2025. According to her, MSMEs must capitalize on this opportunity to increase their competitiveness at both the national and global levels.
On the other hand, support also came from the banking sector. Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), through its BNI BUMN House in Belu, East Nusa Tenggara, held a training session on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for MSMEs. The workshop, titled “17 AI Strategies to Help MSMEs Increase Turnover by Billions,” took place on September 23, 2025, and was attended by 31 participants via a hybrid method.
BNI Corporate Secretary Okki Rushartomo said this training is a concrete step by BNI to increase the capacity of MSMEs, especially in eastern Indonesia.
“Through this program, business owners are encouraged to utilize various tools and advanced AI capabilities to make daily tasks easier, simply using a smartphone,” he explained.
In the training session, Internet Marketing Practitioner Iqrok Wahyu Perdana provided material on how to optimize AI for business needs, starting from editing product photos, creating promotional videos, to compiling marketing content using the ChatGPT and Google Gemini applications.
According to Okki, this training not only provides technical skills, but also opens participants’ insights into smart marketing strategies and data-driven analysis for more informed decision-making.
“With training like this, we hope that MSMEs can gain new skills and knowledge that will be useful for developing their businesses through the use of AI technology,” he concluded.
Through collaboration between local governments, the banking sector, and digital practitioners, it is hoped that MSMEs in Indonesia will be able to strengthen their position as the backbone of the national economy while increasing their competitiveness in the global market.
