Have you ever imagined MSMEs and farmers uniting?

Until now, MSMEs still dominate the business market in Indonesia. Based on the Indonesian Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs as explained by UKM Indonesia, MSMEs cover around 99.99% (62.9 million units) of the total number of business actors in Indonesia, as of 2017. MSMEs also absorb around 97% of the national workforce. Overall, MSME economic activities contributed around 60% to Indonesia's total gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, namely around IDR 8,160 trillion. Amazing, huh!

On the other hand, from the same article, the 2013 BPS Agricultural Census shows that the number of Agricultural Business Households is 26,135,469 units and of these there are around 4,200 units (0.016%) that have legal entities. This figure is still much smaller when compared to non-agricultural sector MSMEs. In fact, the coverage CNBC Indonesia states that Indonesia is now facing a major threat of an agricultural crisis, which is predicted to occur in the next ten to 10 years. the next fifteen years. This is caused by a crisis in the number of farmers, conversion of agricultural land, and high urbanization. The contribution of the agricultural sector to Indonesia's GDP has continued to decline for almost the last thirty years. There was a time when Indonesia was closely identified with its identity as an agricultural country, but it seems that the main focus now is on the industrial sector. Even so, we should not ignore the existence of farmers. Farmers are still among us today, working hard to earn a living through various kinds of food. This is precisely where there is an opportunity to step in and help farmers with their problems.

Apart from farmers, MSMEs are also not free from their own obstacles. The MSME landscape in Indonesia, although it looks good at first glance, is still not fully optimal. CNN Indonesia reported that only 3.79 million MSMEs have utilized online platforms in product marketing, or around 8% of the total number of MSMEs. Indonesian MSMEs. Responding to this, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs and the Ministry of Communication and Information initiated the 8 Million MSMEs Go Online movement in 2017. This collaboration with e-commerce players aims to accelerate the pace of Indonesian business actors entering the digital realm.

We cannot deny that technology is a crucial aspect of human life today. Our daily lives are no longer separated from technology, so proper use of technology is necessary if we want to take steps forward. With great hopes to advance the nation's business market, we need more learning, innovation, and especially collaboration that we can apply to Indonesian MSME players.

Why is collaboration important?

Because two heads are better than one. Two teams have more abilities to complement each other's weaknesses. Technology does support today's life, but it also presents new problems that are much more complex. Therefore, we need each other to produce solutions to various life problems. As an example regarding agricultural issues in Indonesia, KBR also reviewed the importance of private assistance in this field. There needs to be a system to support the agricultural sector, such as for supply chain management and food distribution, human resource development, and wider market networks. Collaboration allows us to develop ourselves and have a greater impact on those around us.

It is clear that we need more initiation from the nation's children to overcome common problems. This is also the effort of Qasir, a cashier application to help traders record various sales needs, and TaniHub, an e-commerce application for farmers selling various agricultural products.

Qasir and TaniHub Collaboration for Indonesian Business Actors

For too long, Indonesian farmers and MSMEs have been underestimated. In fact, when we look at the numbers, the existence of these two business sectors is vital for the survival of the nation, specifically in supporting the national economy. This is what made Qasir and TaniHub called to collaborate. Starting on July 3 2019, Qasir and TaniHub officially collaborated. Ivan Arie Sustiawan, CEO of TaniGroup and Michael J. Willem, CEO of Qasir directly signed this collaboration agreement.

This collaboration is not an ordinary collaboration. Qasir CEO Michael Willem said that this collaboration was based on the same spirit, namely providing better access for farmers and MSMEs. This means that TaniHub's ideals of supporting farmers through better financial and market access combine with Qasir's mission to improve the quality of MSMEs so that they are not inferior to modern shops which are increasingly mushrooming. As a concrete step through this collaboration, Qasir helped distribute the products of Indonesian farmers so that they could be accessed by fifty thousand merchants. You can also shop for products from TaniHub via the Qasir and Miqro and Miqro applications.

Quoted from the blog TaniHub, this collaboration has different values. TaniGroup aspires to support Indonesian farmers through two different approaches but with the same aim, namely providing access to the market through TaniHub and providing access to finance through TaniFund. In line with this, Qasir has a mission to open up equal economic opportunities to empower MSMEs through technology. Therefore, with this collaboration, local farmers' production results will also increase with access supported by technology.

“The rapid pace of technology often makes micro and small entrepreneurs bite their fingers because they are threatened with being eroded by competition. Therefore, since we were founded, our enthusiasm has been to embrace them to participate in developing their business through digital innovation. One of them is opening their access to various fintech and services. "technology that has been integrated into Qasir's Miqro application," explained Michael Willem, as reviewed by online media SELULAR. It is with this same spirit that collaboration was successfully realized.

The process of realizing the collaboration between Qasir and TaniHub is not very visible to the wider community, but both parties are more focused on the goals they want to achieve. The results of this collaboration are focused on small cities that lack adequate access. Because the aim of this collaboration is to optimize farmers' production later, there is no need to be in front of a screen. "We are a collaborative and supportive partner ," explained Ivan Arie Sustiawan.

Far from being imagined, different from the usual memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony which has a formal impression, the atmosphere at the launch of this collaboration was actually very warm. Many jokes and laughter were heard in Qasir's comfortable headquarters. In fact, like a proposal event, the TaniGroup team brought a package containing fruit as a gift, while Qasir symbolically brought a transaction machine. The event closed with friendly hospitality and casual chat in the garden behind Qasir's office.

Now, both parties will continue to build friendships as capital to grow together and a catalyst for MSME players and Indonesian farmers. Please pray for your blessing, BossQ!