TEMPO.CO, BUSINESS INFO - In the second quarter of this year, the Indonesian economy began to show positive signs of economic recovery. Quoting from Bloomberg, Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that GDP is expected to expand 6.9-7.8 percent in the second-quarter period, a pace that would be the fastest since 2008.

One of the reasons for this forward momentum has been the successful collaboration of the government with the corporations and other private parties that have helped to provide social safety nets for the poor, educate new healthy behavior in tackling the Covid-19, and optimize the reach of vaccination throughout the nation.

Grab: Public-Private Partnerships Are Increasingly Important in Building Economic Recovery Momentum

Grab Indonesia is one of the private sector organizations that has acted as a key partner for the government in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. Grab has worked with central and local governments on more than 40 collaboration initiatives including digitization of micro, smal land medium enterprises (MSMEs), vaccination roll out, and tourism revitalization.

President of Grab Indonesia Ridzki Kramadibrata said now is the most important time to continue the public-private partnership. Indonesia has created momentum for recovery, but we must not be complacent, he warned.

“Grab will continue to be committed to being the government's strategic partner in this economic recovery. Why? Because the impact of this pandemic is suffered by everyone. With the spirit of gotong royong (mutual cooperation), we must take a role to support our brothers and sisters so that we can all go through these challenging times together,” said Ridzki in Jakarta 22 June.

Ridzki explained that Grab collaboration was based on open and straightforward dialogue with the central and regional governments about the most critical challenges faced by Indonesians, particularly in relation to health care and stabilizing livelihoods through the use of digital technology.

Full Commitment to Support Vaccination

Grab: Public-Private Partnerships Are Increasingly Important in Building Economic Recovery Momentum

Vaccination is the most important element in driving economic recovery as it is the first line of defense against the virus. Grab has realized its commitment to support the national vaccination program by vaccinating Grab partners in more than 53 cities and regencies throughout Indonesia. The area covers small cities like Jayapura, Maros, Ambon, Bantul, Gowa and many more. Grab will continue to increase the inoculation point for vaccination according to government directions.

Through this program, currently, hundreds of thousands of Indonesians, including Grab driver-partners have received vaccinations. More importantly, the status of those who have been vaccinated is listed on the application and can be seen by consumers when ordering rides, providing them peace of mind when they travel.

Grab: Public-Private Partnerships Are Increasingly Important in Building Economic Recovery Momentum

“The geographic condition of Indonesia in the form of an archipelago presents its own challenges in providing vaccines that are evenly distributed and include all of them. The technology and wide reach of the Grab platform can help the government overcome this problem,” said Ridzki.

Moving forward, Ridzki continued, Grab will continue to support the government's efforts in vaccination, one of which is reaching segments of society with high social interaction and vulnerability.

UMKM Digitalization

Grab: Public-Private Partnerships Are Increasingly Important in Building Economic Recovery Momentum

During this pandemic, MSMEs have been proven to be strong pillars that allow the national economy to survive as many have continued to provide essential goods and services to their communities. This sector covers 99.9 percent of the total business units in Indonesia: 64.2 million business units are MSMEs and can absorb 120 million of the 130 million national workforces.

In the scope of digitizing MSMEs, Grab Indonesia collaborates with the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs and the government in 12 provinces to encourage MSMEs to enter the digital platform through the #TerusUsaha movement. This program has facilitated millions of MSMEs to enter the digital platform to expand business development by providing them greater access to consumers and more channels for growing revenue.

This program also summarizes various special acceleration initiatives to train and improve the skills of MSMEs, as well as advertisements to increase online visibility that can increase sales. Grab Indonesia also launched a microsite specifically designed for MSMEs to provide tips and other knowledge so that they can develop their online business.

Most recently, Grab supports the Ministry of Investment / Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in the process of helping MSMEs apply for a business license to obtain a Business License Number (NIB) through the Online Single System (OSS). In the cooperation agreement signed by the Minister of Investment / Head of BKPM Bahlil Lahadalia and President of Grab Indonesia Ridzki Kramadibrata, Grab will disseminate information to MSMEs and provide a help desk for MSMEs that are facing challenges in obtaining business permits.

“This pandemic proves the important role of MSMEs as the backbone of the Indonesian economy. However, most of them are still outside the digital economy ecosystem. This is what we encourage them, as we hope they can enter the digital ecosystem and at the same time increase the financial inclusion of MSMEs, helping them to boost earnings and support the livelihoods of business owners and their families,” said Ridzki.

Collaboration in the Tourism Revitalization

Grab also supports Tourism revival, one of the sectors that the government has invited Grab to collaborate in. “We understand that tourism involves many people and has many businesses as its support system. Recovery in the tourism sector means recovery in many people's households,” said Ridzki. The commitment was expressed by Grab’s support in the super destinations of Lake Toba, North Sumatra, and Borobudur, Central Java.

The presence of Grab at Lake Toba in the Grab Toba program includes Grab Car Airport services at Silangit Airport, Grab Rent which is suitable for tourists, as well as hotel reservations through the Grab application. The Grab Toba program is expected to be able to help achieve the target of 1 million visitors at the destination.

Grab: Public-Private Partnerships Are Increasingly Important in Building Economic Recovery Momentum

At the super destination of Borobudur Temple, which has long been a world tourist attraction, Grab Indonesia supports safety tourism initiatives in accordance with the principles of cleanliness, health, safety, and environmental sustainability (CHSE) for Grab driver-partners and merchants, travel promotion, and exploration of tourist destinations through Grab services, as well as providing tour packages in the Magelang, Yogyakarta, Solo, and Semarang areas.

Furthermore, Grab is also working with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to organize training to improve service quality for Grab driver-partners who are at the forefront of interacting with tourists.

“Grab is committed to further government collaboration in maintaining the recovery momentum. The growing number of vaccinated people and digitized UMKM provides a strong platform for accelerated growth driven by public-private partnerships. We believe that we will see a brighter economic performance in the third quarter,” concluded Ridzki. *)

INFO TEMPO