Google Launches Initiative for SMEs in Indonesia

By Tech Wire Asia | 16 January, 2012

Google Southeast Asia officially launched its program Bisnis Lokal Go Online aimed to deliver end-to-end solution for Small Medium Enterprises and local entrepreneurs in Indonesia to get online easily.

Having partnership with Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), PANDI, MELSA, Bakrie Connectivity, APTIKOM and Multiply, Google expects that the enterprises and entrepreneurs will enjoy tons of benefit and a great number of opportunities of having online presence. The same initiative has been launched in Malaysia on November last year. Further information and education on how to make the businesses get into cyberspace can be obtained from help desk teams that reside in AHA World and Esia outlets that spread out across Indonesia.

In the press conference held in Jakarta last January 11, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, Minister of Industry MS Hidayat and Minister of Cooperatives and Small Medium Enterprises Syarief Hasan, James Riady from KADIN and Julian Persaud, Google Southeast Asia Managing Director attended the event.

The solutions offered are free easily-updated and customized websites (including hosting), free domain .co.id for one year, sustainable tips and training, AdWords worth IDR 500.000 (equivalent to $55) with phone support from the experts.

By using Google Business Site Builder, the entrepreneurs and enterprises can develop their own web sites easily. They just need to follow step-by-step instructions, select and deploy templates and structures, insert necessary pictures, videos, and the website can go live within minutes, compared to hiring web developers and using other, more expensive, tools. The website can also be viewed on mobile devices.

Meanwhile, Google AdWords, as most of us already know, will ease the entrepreneurs and companies to be found by their customers or prospects with small amount of advertising budget. And advertisers only need to pay if only someone does click on their advertisement.

After the web site is published, their businesses will get exposure in Google products, such as Search, Maps, Earth and others. If someone tries to search for their companies, their business profile will be featured in these Google products. Thus, their company information and location will be easier to find.

Entrepreneurs and enterprises that want to benefit from the initiative are required to have Google accounts. At present, it’s estimated that there are already 3,000 registrants signed up for the program.