Jakarta. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan said a new national campaign called #BanggaBuatanIndonesia – Proudly Made in Indonesia – had been designed to encourage small and medium enterprises to make more use of online platforms to advance their business. 

Luhut said the government also hoped the campaign could minimize impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, and that industry players might reap benefits from it.

"The #BanggaBuatanIndonesia campaign should encourage sales of creative economy or other SME products on online platforms," Luhut said after the campaign's digital launch on Thursday.

He said the campaign is a cross-ministerial effort which will also feature training for SMEs.

"The government will provide the training, and we'll give a total of Rp 34.1 trillion to SMEs so they can develop a good brand and develop their online presence," Luhut said.

The campaign was designed after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo issued an instruction to prioritize Made in Indonesia products and boost their sales.

The minister said SMEs could help improve Indonesia's competitiveness in the global market by creating a stronger digital presence.

"Indonesia is a rich and powerful country. If we unite, we could be even greater," Luhut said as he urged people to use and buy more local products.

Speaking at the launch, President Jokowi said he was confident local industries would survive the challenges from the coronavirus crisis and encouraged local entrepreneurs to make their own opportunities.

"A pandemic should not stop us being creative. It should actually give us an extra push to transform, explore our potentials and create our own opportunities," Jokowi said.

The president highlighted opportunities in the health sector during the pandemic, saying that domestic producers should try to meet the demand for innovative medical equipment – from ventilators to PCR test kits.

Doing so could also help Indonesia to become less dependent on imported medical equipment during the pandemic.