Women playing major role in creating jobs: W20

Indonesian women are playing a major role in creating jobs and starting enterprises, Chair of W20 Indonesia Hadriani Uli Silalahi has said.

This is because 62 percent of micro businesses are owned by women, which play a major role in job creation.

However, women entrepreneurs encountered many challenges, she noted during the “Digital Cooperative Transformation: The Realization of Food Independence and Improvement of Women-led MSMEs through Cooperatives” webinar on Monday.

The challenges include low financial literacy, lack of access to credit and investment, and low digital technology mastery.

As part of efforts to support the emergence of women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises, W20 Indonesia had unveiled the Sispreneur program and the W20 Incubation for women-led MSMEs, with a total fund of Rp300 million awarded to winners.

Women-led MSMEs can be directly supported through the provision of training and funding, Silalahi noted.

This can also be done by allocating at least 1 percent of the 15 percent new global minimum tax on companies to fund MSMEs owned and led by women, she added.

During the webinar, she informed that at the summit of the W20 meeting, her group had delivered the W20 communiqué to the G20 Sherpa.

The communiqué covers women-owned MSMEs' issues, the development of women entrepreneurship policy and ecosystem to expedite growth, and the utilization of digital technology to support MSME growth.

The W20 lauded the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as the Ministry of Communication and Information for helping businesswomen achieve inclusive business practices.

"Let us hope that we will see more commitment shown by the government, association, business owners to support businesses led by women," Silalahi remarked.

The W20 is one of the engagement groups within the Indonesian G20 Presidency that serves as a women's empowerment network to encourage the adoption of G20 commitments on women's issues.

Related news: Peruri's entrepreneurship academy to help MSMEs face Industry 4.0 era

Related news: Indonesian govt encourages development of food cooperatives