The Indonesia Marketing Association (IMA) believes that the lack of capital among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is no longer the main obstacle to business development.
Muhammad Awaluddin, President of the Indonesia Marketing Association (IMA) for the 2013–2015 period, revealed that the main challenge faced by SMEs in Indonesia is the lack of business and marketing knowledge among entrepreneurs.
"Many SME players start with just ideas and limited capital, but with a touch of knowledge, their businesses grow significantly. Understanding knowledge does not necessarily mean graduating from formal education. Knowledge can be obtained from any channel, including informal ones," said Awaluddin when stepping down from his position as IMA President in Jakarta, Sunday (August 2).
Awaluddin, who also serves as Director of Enterprise and Business Services at Telkom, stated that small entrepreneurs have started utilizing communication and information technology to grow their businesses. According to him, many small businesses have become successful because their owners are diligent in seeking information and innovating through the internet.
"I tried to transfer knowledge by utilizing the startup indoTelko.com, contributing to the 'SME Goes Digital' column. Now, those writings have been compiled into a book for limited distribution within IMA, and hopefully, it will be available to the general public in the future. Knowledge about marketing must be shared to support the growth of Indonesian SMEs," he explained.
Entrepreneurship 3.0 Concept
Hermawan Kartajaya, Founder of the Indonesia Marketing Association (IMA), believes that today’s entrepreneurs should adopt the Entrepreneurship 3.0 concept in their businesses.
Entrepreneurship 3.0 is a concept where entrepreneurs no longer focus solely on profit or pursuing personal ambition and organizational interests but also contribute to the progress of the surrounding community.
"The ideas shared by my colleague in the book provide inspiration on how SMEs can grow, develop, and become independent. The book offers solutions to the factors causing SME failures in simple and easy-to-understand language," said Hermawan.
The book Marketing on Small Medium Enterprise: Jurus Ampuh Menggenggam Dunia (Powerful Strategies to Conquer the World), written by Awaluddin, summarizes his writings from the SME Goes Digital column on www.indoTelko.com.
Sharing Knowledge for SME Advancement
Doni Ismanto Darwin, Editor-in-Chief of IndoTelko.com, expressed pride in having Awaluddin as one of the columnists on the portal.
"Mr. Awaluddin is one of the mentors in the telecommunications industry because of his comprehensive experience in both technical and business aspects. Fortunately, I was able to convince him to use the SME Goes Digital column on indoTelko.com as a platform to share knowledge with readers," said Doni.
He added that as an information technology portal, IndoTelko.com will continue to collaborate with digital experts to share knowledge with its readers.
"Our concept is 3C: Coverage, Content, and Community, to grow and compete in this digital era," he concluded. (CNN Indonesia)