TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-The Trade Ministry will soon inaugurate a design development center for small and medium enterprises (SME) from across the country aiming at improving SME’s competitiveness in the international market.
“We’re planning to launch [the center], since it’s a commitment made by all stakeholders. Moreover, almost all competitors have such facility,” Sulistyawati, director of export product development at the Trade Ministry said on the sidelines of Gifts and Premium Fair 2016 in Hong Kong on Thursday, April 28, 2016.
Sulistyawati explained that the Ministry would serve as a facilitator arranging meetings for business owners and product designers in a bid to share visions in designing and developing export-quality products. Sulistyawati added that the Ministry had provided a 1,000-square meter space in Slipi, West Jakarta, for the center. The SME product development center would have modern workshops to equip small and medium business owners with digital technology skills.
As an initial step, she added, the Trade Ministry had run a program providing SMEs with product designers in a number of regions.
“Preparing export-oriented SMEs takes time. When the products meet the standard, they can be marketed overseas as the government wants to see SMEs with products, of which quality can be measured,” she said.
Sulistyawati hopes that the product design development center can be a solution to create efficient products with competitive prices.
