Rakuten Preps Indonesian SMEs for Online Migration

As large companies settle comfortably into their digital operations, fulfilling demand for an online marketplace, smaller firms are often left to scramble for resources to bring their operations to the web. One e-commerce conglomerate wants to help SMEs in Indonesia with that move.

Reports say Japan-based Rakuten is now offering training courses for Indonesia’s SMEs looking to grow their business by digitizing their operations. Experts say it is no surprise that Rakuten Belenja Online, the Indonesian unit of Rakuten, chose the nation to launch its new e-commerce courses. The country is southeast Asia’s largest economy and e-commerce conglomerates are strengthening their watch of the region as it continues rapid growth an a larger middle class.

“The Indonesian market is expanding at the fastest rate, so to meet the demand, we need to develop the market,” said Rakuten Belanja Online director Yasunobu Hashimoto.

E-commerce in the region is especially attractive to the business world. According to International Data Corporation, e-commerce transactions in the area could reach $3 billion this year. Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba is rumored to be planning an entrance in Indonesia’s market soon.

To do that, Rakuten has launched its own University program, offering courses to its merchant partners looking to bring their commerce operations online. The Rakuten University program first emerged in Japan in 2000, according to reports. With more than 1,000 merchants on the Rakuten network in Indonesia, the company said it hopes to not only expand the economy in the nation, but attract companies to Rakuten’s services.

Rakuten launched the first of the courses in Indonesia last week with 30 merchants signing up for the program, reports said, and the training is especially targeted towards small businesses. “SMEs contribute nearly 60 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and employ over 97 percent of the workforce,” Hashimoto said. “We believe that empowering them is the key to support the local community.”