Opening Ceremony of Entrepreneurial and E-Commerce Skills Programme in Indonesia

16 Feb 2022

The opening ceremony of the Entrepreneurial and E-Commerce Skills Programme in Indonesia took place on 15 February 2022. The programme is designed by the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC), in collaboration with local partner Indonesia Resilience, and is sponsored by Temasek Foundation International and the Government of DKI Jakarta. The ceremony was attended by Mr Anies R. Baswedan, the Governor of Jakarta, Mr Benedict Cheong, CEO of Temasek Foundation International and Prof Cheong Koon Hean, Chair of LKYCIC.


This programme arose from a key research thrust of the LKYCIC ‘Citizens Urban Science: Policy and Practice’ covering four South East Asian Cities – Jakarta, Manila, Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City. Working with local partners, the first phase involves mapping out urban challenges faced by these cities and the efforts taken to overcome them. The second phase comprise an analyse of the neighbourhood surveys and the specific challenges in the cities.  

The first phase of the research on Jakarta comprise a survey conducted in Jakarta between January and March 2020. This survey provided information on residents’ perceptions of life in Jakarta neighbourhoods. Focusing mostly on livability, LKYCIC applied the data it collected to learn what residents perceive as necessary to change in their neighborhoods, and how they think they can be involved in the future development of their communities and city. The data collected helped researchers at the LKYCIC identify potential opportunities for people to thrive, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A positive outcome of the research is the LKYCIC’s initiative to equip members of the community of Petamburan, Central Jakarta, with entrepreneurial skills for an alternative livelihood through a series of workshops. The purpose of these workshops is to increase participation and to empower citizens at neighborhood-level to develop and maintain a neighborhood-based business focused on the commercialisation of traditional remedies and nutritional supplement such as jamu.
 
This project is a good example of how research can be translated into practical applications. It is also a project where LKYCIC used urban science and big data analytics to propose solutions at micro-level in big Asian cities in the current and post-pandemic context.