Jakarta, Indonesia — The commercial shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic has hit Indonesia’s smaller businesses especially hard. But some female entrepreneurs have survived — and even prospered — by using the savvy and skills they learned in a UN Women entrepreneurship training.
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) depend on daily cash flow from sales of goods, but social distancing edicts in cities including Jakarta have forced owners to close up shops. The Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs said in mid-April that it had received reports that 56 per cent of 37,000 small and medium enterprises faced declining sales.
Women manage more than 64 per cent of registered MSMEs in Indonesia and 47 per cent of women over 15 work jobs closely related to the sector, such as in retail, restaurants, hospitality, industry and manufacturing, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures of recent years.
UN Women spoke with three female entrepreneurs in the Jakarta area who participated in WeLearn, a UN Women project supported by Sunlight, a Unilever brand. WeLearn’s online and in-person trainings improve equal learning opportunities to empower women who want to start or grow their business. More than 4,900 women from micro and small enterprises have participated since the project started in October 2019.
Erna Sari, 38, owner of Ayam Penyet Bandung
Author: Giasinta Livia
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