Helping small businesses in Jakarta
Dhiya Bharwani
Life in Jakarta
I’ve grown up in Jakarta my entire life, surrounded by Indonesian culture. ‘Warungs’, a part of Indonesian culture, are small stalls that sell a range of products, from food to groceries, accessories, and many more. These ‘warungs’ are regarded as small businesses because they are owned by sole proprietors or a single family. However, during COVID-19, many warungs stopped operating due to the economic hardships and unfavorable situation in Indonesia.
Warungs have always been my popular preferred stop for food and I’ve always eaten or ordered from local warungs in Indonesia whether I’m at home or traveling to neighboring islands. I marvel over the Indonesian-owned company of GoJek and Tokopedia, now merged and known as GoTo. GoJek is a multi-purpose on-demand platform in various Asian countries. Tokopedia is an Indonesian technological company that aims to innovate e-commerce. Both platforms help small businesses attract new customers through their platforms. Small businesses are allowed to be discovered, but a commission is given to these companies for their service. Online presence and e-commerce platforms have gained prominence in the post-Covid times. Many small businesses weren’t able to sustain their expenditures that their business needed because of financial struggles during COVID-19. Furthermore, Indonesia’s education rate is relatively low, meaning that these small business owners often lack fundamental educational skills to grow their businesses. While Gojek and Tokopedia are available platforms, they require payments from businesses in order to use their service. There isn’t a platform or service that is free of charge for small businesses to aid them with their growth. There is also an abundance of platforms that charge fees, such as Shopify, Wix, Amazon, and Shopee. Small businesses in Indonesia cannot afford the necessary skills and help for their business, hindering their potential growth.
Business has been rooted in my family for thirty years, as my grandparents and parents are successful entrepreneurs. I’ve been exposed to the field of business since I was a young child. I’ve taken classes relating to specific business sectors like finance, marketing, and operations. However, I found a passion for marketing. I was also extremely interested in content creation through the lens of marketing, and I wanted to explore it further. After realizing the persisting educational gap in Indonesia, I realized that small businesses don’t have the necessary resources to grow their business. I have the necessary skills to create content on popular platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. But not the right knowledge to create websites hence I sought guidance from mentors and self-taught myself how to create websites on Wix.com. It’s still a learning process, but with every small business I help, I gain more experience creating websites and content.
In college, I intend to pursue a business major with a focus on marketing and entrepreneurship. I’ve grown to love both marketing and entrepreneurship, and I am passionate I will be able to use my skills to make an impact on the world by tackling problems that we see around us today.
Small businesses affected by COVID-19.
Warungs were affected during COVID-19. Warungs are traditional family-owned Indonesian small businesses essential to daily life and widely available. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with two warung owners in Jakarta, Indonesia, to understand more about how their warungs were affected during COVID-19. Ujang* and Budiman* are two warung owners that sell food and beverages. They both struggled during the pandemic. During the pre-pandemic, they sold basic necessities: beverages, vegetables, and poultry. During the pandemic, they weren’t able to run and operate their warungs because of the COVID restrictions imposed by the Indonesian government, making it difficult for them to sell their products physically.
Ujang and Budiman did not receive a college education and only completed a middle school education level at best. Ujang, who is 50 years old, has no experience shopping online and has no notable computer literacy skills. Similarly, Budiman, who is 25 years old, has also never shopped online; however, he thought about digitalizing his business but lacks computer literacy skills. When asked, both of them would appreciate it if there would be a free service to help set up their online shop.
How Upgraidd has helped online businesses
Upgraidd is a non-profit organization I created in 2021 aimed at providing free e-services to small businesses to help them reach a larger online customer base and unlock their economic potential. Upgraidd believes that every small business can harness it to upgrade and expand online.
Since 2021, Upgraidd has been helping small online businesses digitalize and harness their potential. Google surveys were conducted with the four online businesses that Upgraidd has personally helped. Eversince is a newly founded skincare company in Indonesia with the aim of providing cruelty-free and skin-friendly products for younger teenagers. Udukku is a music marketplace for the exchange of services between clients and artists; they have been operating for 1 year. Erthenhues creates products such as bags, coasters, and home decor using jute (a bio-degradable substance). Prakratik Yog Nilayam is a yoga and naturopathy studio that offers various services such as yoga sessions and other curing ones. Both Erthenhues and Prakratik Yog Nilayam have been operating for 20 years.
According to the data collected, three out of four businesses were affected by COVID-19. One of the most notable responses was from Prakratik Yog Nilayam, as they were not able to run their business physically due to restrictions. Another business, Erthenhues had to slow down its production because they were unable to source the raw materials needed for its products.
While COVID-19 seemed to be the only obstacle to overcome, another obstacle also lies in businesses trying to digitalize. Because of innovation and the business environment changing constantly, online presence has become vital for any small business to survive in the long term. For example, Prakratik Yog Nilayam changed its business model due to COVID-19, and started offering online yoga classes. However, it isn’t easy for other businesses because they face difficulties setting up their online presence. There are plenty of e-commerce website providers, for example, Shopify, Wordpress, Tokopedia, and Shopee. Eversince faced the challenge of finding the right platform to use. There is a myriad of platforms that businesses can use now, which makes it difficult for businesses to find the right one to use. Additionally, Apoorva Karan, 58, founder of Erthenhues, who faced issues with website literacy, stated that “it is hard to keep up with the constant changes of social media accounts, and we are unable to create a website on our own.” Udukku and Prakratik Yog Nilayam faced challenges with marketing their business, from creating marketing content to setting up social media accounts and websites. The changing nature of technology has created a steep learning curve for small business owners.
The evident challenges resulting from a rapidly changing business environment and the additional challenges from COVID-19 have created an optimum opportunity. Hence, Upgraidd was created to help small businesses like the four mentioned above. Anshu Sharma, 48, the founder of Prakratik Yog Nilayam, commented, “Dhiya has helped me set up a beautiful website where all information is well organized and a payment feature so that people can pay for services online.” Anshu’s monthly sales have increased significantly to approximately USD $5,015 due to the digitalization of her business. Similarly, Erthenhues has also reported an increase in revenue with monthly sales of approximately USD $5,015 — $6,268. Moreover, Upgraidd has created marketing content for Udukku to provide information to its customers, and not only that, Upgraidd also provides creation and management of social media accounts. Upgraidd has also created various materials for small businesses to refer to. These materials consist of instructional pamphlets and videos for small business owners to reference when they require additional support.
Future of Upgraidd
The ultimate aim of Upgraidd is not just to help these businesses digitalize but also to teach them the hows. Hopefully, in the future, they will be able to run their online businesses independently and on a larger scale. Upgraidd currently provides all its services free of charge, and it is run by one person. Upgraidd’s current plan is to assist more small businesses and achieve a larger consumer base. Currently, small businesses are referred to by family and friends. Upgraidd hopes to gain clients organically through other channels. If the business scales bigger, there is a possibility that freelancers will be hired to help with the creation of websites and marketing content. Furthermore, a pricing model will be introduced where clients will pay for the service that they require. In the future, there are also plans to branch into consulting. For example, providing a growth strategy plan for small businesses that intend to venture into other markets. Overall, Upgraidd aims to empower small businesses and help them overcome the barriers of entry to digitalization.
*Names have been changed to protect the identities of warung owners
