Jakarta, 2 August 2023: The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) was pleased to support the e Trade for Women community at an initiative by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Covid-19 has accelerated the digital transformation in ASEAN, resulting in 60 million new digital consumers, with Indonesia's e-commerce market alone set to be worth $360 billion by 2030. However, the digital divide is a continuous issue in the region as it is closely related to country capabilities to adapt to digital technology, especially for underrepresented groups, including women, those who live in rural areas, and persons with disabilities.

The event, held at JAVARA Culture Jakarta, brought together members of e Trade for Women communities in Indonesia, as well as 23 prospective members from women-led entrepreneur companies in Jakarta who were selected after applying to join the network.

Helianti Hilman, founder of Javara Indigenous Indonesia and former e Trade for Women advocate, led an inspirational session on leveraging digital tools to impact the ecosystem, stressing the important role of data automation and digital marketing to scale up businesses.

Lina Maulidina Sabrina, ERIA Senior Programme Officer, spoke of the trends, opportunities, and challenges of digital transformation in ASEAN, and how rapid digital adoption in ASEAN will continue, spurred by digital native consumers dominated by Millennials and Gen Z who are projected to account for roughly 75% of the population by 2030.

Sonia Nnadozie, UNCTAD Programme Management Officer e Trade for Women; and Arlin Chondro, Founder and CEO of Peek. Me Naturals and e Trade for Women Community Leader gave a presentation on how to build a stronger community of women entrepreneurs. They followed the presentation with a collaborative brainstorming session to identify the next steps and initiatives for strengthening and growing the community.