Yakumart.com, Digital Solution for Small Business in Central Sulawesi
The earthquake that occurred on 28 September 2018 had a lot of impact on the livelihood and economic sectors of communities living in Palu, Sigi, and Donggala (Pasigala) in Central Sulawesi. The micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSME) are the most affected by the incident. Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI), which is fully supported by Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH), is assisting MSME entrepreneurs in their recovery efforts after two years of the earthquake and tsunami emergency response
As of August 2020, WVI has provided conditional financial assistance to 280 MSME enterpreneurs in 4 villages including Lero Tatari Village and Bangga Village in Sigi Regency, Tipo Village, and Watusampu in Palu City. During August 2020, WVI will provide conditional funding assistance to 40 micro-entrepreneurs in Lolu Village, Sigi Regency.
The data collection involving the village government has been carried out since March 2019. The assistance is given to the enterpreneurs whose businesses were destroyed or affected by a disaster. With this assistance, it is expected that they can start business transaction activities. In addition this assistance enables them to meet their family needs, such as providing proper nutritious food, proper education and sustainable business. The MSME assisted by WVI includes business in the services sector, trading business, home industry, agriculture and plantation, livestock and fisheries.
In addition to providing conditional financial assistance, WVI collaborates with the UMKM Office in Pasigala to provide assistance to business actors with a variety of training materials, including basic bookkeeping, household economic management concepts, business analysis, product quality, access to capital institutions, business promotion, and business feasibility administration.
To handle the pandemic situation, Wahana Visi Indonesia with the UMKM Office in Pasigala, build a Yakumart.com, a portal of which name wasd derived from the Kaili language, 'yaku' which means me and 'mart' in English which means market. With this name, it is hoped that everyone who walks into the website feels that they own the portal.
Yakumart.com was established on June 4, 2020 as an alternative place to promote the micro business in a pandemic situation. Through this portal, the MSME enterpreneurs can learn how to promote their business, conduct transactions, learn the media and information media for micro-business products in Pasigala. On August 25, 2020, along with the MSME Day celebration, Longki Djanggola, the Governor of Central Sulawesi inaugurated this website. Thus, after WVI completes the response for the Central Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami at the end of September, it will be easier for MSME entrepreneurs to sell their products because they are marketed online.
Written by Lisa Hernawati, Operations Manager, Central Sulawesi Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Response
