Govt Boosts MSME Products to Reach Global Markets Through AI

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesia's Minister of Trade, Budi Santoso, encouraged Indonesian MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) actors to continuously improve product quality and balance it with digital marketing skills. One way to achieve this is by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in digital product marketing.

He delivered these statements while opening the "Reach the Global Market with AI" mentoring session at the Ministry of Trade Office in Jakarta on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. At this event, which resulted from a collaboration between the Ministry of Trade, Meta Indonesia, and UKMIndonesia.id, Budi affirmed that digital technology opens up opportunities for broader marketing, including in international markets.

"A good product is the first requirement, followed by how you sell it. Quality products need to be balanced with effective marketing to reach consumers, including those in international markets. MSMEs must sell smartly, and digital technology opens up opportunities for wider marketing," he said.

Budi has further conveyed AI can help MSMEs with market research, content creation, ad strategy planning, and communicating with potential buyers from target countries. The benefits of AI must be continuously optimized to boost the contribution of MSMEs to Indonesia's export value, which reached 15.7% in 2025.

"Reach the Global Market with AI" is a mentoring program covering 200 MSMEs in Bandung, Batam, and Jakarta. Specifically for the Jakarta series, 100 MSME actors were curated from 580 applicants.

This assistance includes workshops on global market research, digital catalog creation, and practical ad placement through Meta Advantage+. Following today's activities, MSME actors will receive seven days of intensive guidance to optimize their ads and attract prospective buyers.

The next phase focuses on export readiness, mentored by trade attaches and the Indonesia Trade Promotion Center (ITPC). The final result of this program will be followed up with the submission of the MSME Export Catalog to the Minister of Trade at the Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) 2026 on October 14–18, 2026.