BNI, Indonesian Embassy Set Up Indonesian MSME Distribution Center in Japan

TheIndonesia.id - PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) together with the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) has set up a distribution center in Japan to reduce logistics costs and make Indonesian MSME products more competitive. This distribution center uses a dropshipping strategy which is considered effective for MSMEs in increasing their sales.

“At the BNI Tokyo office, we have a meeting room that MSMEs can use for business meetings. We have MSME display products and virtual business matching that can be directly sold in Japan," said BNI Treasury & International Director Henry Panjaitan in an official statement in Jakarta, Saturday, April 30, 2022.

BNI also provided information about the Japanese market characteristics at export MSME centers in Indonesia as well as actively bringing MSMEs through BNI Xpora to prestigious exhibitions globally to showcase their products. Henry said as a company that has various branches abroad, BNI has the vision to bring Indonesia to the world, including Japan because it has very high standards for a product so that MSMEs that can penetrate this market must also have qualified capabilities.

“Because the qualification of a product is very high, the key to success is product quality, service, and after-sales service. This is where our role is to provide assistance to penetrate the Japanese market,” he said.

Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Heri Akhmadi said the automotive, fashion, food, and jewelry sectors have great potential for Indonesian MSMEs to penetrate. “In Japan, micro-enterprises are indeed rather difficult, but there are many medium-sized businesses that have the opportunity to develop. One of the MSME products that have succeeded, namely batik exports, which increased by 300 percent, as well as jewelry and pearls, which exceeded 45 million US dollars," said Heri.

In addition to batik and jewelry, he continued, Indonesian food products are now starting to be in great demand as the role of the Indonesian diaspora is becoming a trade agent. The Indonesian diaspora spread across various countries plays an important role in increasing exports, especially for MSMEs because they can become a liaison and gateway for local MSMEs to penetrate the export market.

Japan is an important market because there are more than 70 thousand Indonesian diasporas in Japan and by the end of the year it is predicted to reach 80 thousand diasporas. “The increase in diaspora in Japan is due to the need for around 1.3 million workers. This is the potential why the diaspora can become Indonesia's trade agent with Japan and become an entry point," he said.