Unlocking Digital Talent in Indonesia’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises: Issues and Challenges

This paper examines the opportunity and challenge of efforts to increase digital talent among MSME actors in Indonesia. The main idea of this paper departs from the general understanding that having digital talent is a key part of digital transformation for MSME actors in Indonesia. It is also a strategic step in supporting efforts to increase MSME's business capacity and economic contribution to the economy. However, business owners need more digital literacy and adequate educational background, which explains the complexity of efforts to increase digital talent capabilities among MSME actors in Indonesia. Most MSME actors utilize business digitalization to expand their online marketing process. They also still rely on conventional transactions in their business, so digital-based activities are usually carried out as an alternative to expand the market and obtain additional income. This paper pointed out that the process of digitalizing MSMEs is influenced by the ability of business owners to understand the benefits of the digital economy. Efforts to digitalize MSMEs should be carried out according to the needs, readiness, demographic, and business characteristics of MSME actors.