ACSB and Indonesian Ministry Collaborate to Boost MSME Exports

The Asia Council for Small Business (ACSB) and the Indonesian Ministry of Trade have looked into ways to work together to increase MSMEs' exports through the ministry's export assistance program. The program, called the UMKM BISA Ekspor program, aims to motivate MSMEs to increase their market share via exporting.

Hermawan Kartajaya, the founder and chair of ACSB Indonesia, met with Trade Minister Budi Santoso to discuss this collaboration.

"The Ministry of Trade invites more export stakeholders and MSMEs to leverage this program. We hope that the UMKM BISA Ekspor can encourage more exports," Santoso said.

They talked about five ways to improve the UMKM BISA Ekspor program. The first was to encourage the Indonesian Chinese Social Association (PSMTI), which is part of the ACSB, and the Indonesian Marketing Association (IMA) to act as aggregators for MSMEs. These aggregators can then help the UMKM BISA Ekspor program by taking part in business matching. Supporting training for aspiring trade representatives is the second step.

Additionally, ACSB might contribute to the growth of MSMEs. Finally, from May 5–7, 2025, the Ministry of Trade might attend an ACSB event in Milan, Italy, organized in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to Minister Santoso, 72 business matching events took place in January 2025 as part of the UMKM BISA Ekspor program.

Approximately 196 MSMEs had actively engaged in business matching operations as of January 2025. MSMEs in the food and beverage, coffee, spice, furniture, handicraft, medical device, and chemical product industries are among them.