Strategy to Develop Local E-Marketplace as The Innovation of MSMEs Empowerment

Abstract

Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) has had a significant impact on the economy, including the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector. One of the efforts of MSMEs to survive is to switch to digital. The city government of Samarinda grabs this opportunity by releasing a mobile application called Behambinan. This study aims to determine the Behambinan development strategy as an innovation to empower MSMEs in Samarinda City. This study uses the Diffusion of Innovation Theory to parse the development strategies that have been carried out by the Samarinda City Government. The method used in this research is qualitative descriptive by conducting in-depth interviews with the Communication and Information Office of Samarinda City and government elements who collaborate in managing the application. The results found that the Behambinan application is in the dissemination stage to act effectively as the local digital forum for buy and sell. Some MSME players (adopters) have difficulty understanding the application due to a lack of digital literacy and technical issues such as not having a smartphone and high expense for internet quotas to run the application. These become main obstacles in the process of disseminating Behambinan as the local e-marketplace application, besides the promotional strategies.

Keywords: COVID-19, MSMEs, E-Marketplace, empowerment, innovation