Indonesian trade minister praises e-commerce push to spotlight local goods

JAKARTA, 14 AUGUST 2026 —

Indonesian Trade Minister Budi Santoso welcomed Shopee’s new local-product accelerator programme, saying it would lift the visibility of domestic goods and help micro, small and medium enterprises grow.

“Shopee has responded appropriately to the regulation by launching this programme,” Mr Santoso said. “We urge sellers and platforms to work together so that local products reach more consumers and producers scale up.”

The minister added that a healthy e-commerce ecosystem required shared responsibility among sellers, platforms and shoppers. He also highlighted the Product Placement Pilihan Busan scheme, a periodic promotion curated by the ministry to spotlight quality and competitive local goods.

Shopee’s head of government relations in Indonesia, Balques Manisang, said the platform’s programme was a direct response to Permendag 19/2026. He said Shopee had introduced vouchers and waived service fees for sellers offering exclusively local goods on the 17th of each month, alongside free three-month listings and a capacity-building campus for small businesses.

“These measures respond to the government’s call to strengthen domestic products through better visibility, transparent fees and wider market access,” Mr Manisang said.

One local entrepreneur, Ayu Mai Fakih, founder of Hijab Berlin, said the initiative had already helped her modest fashion label reach overseas markets. She said her brand, which focuses on pilgrimage attire, now exports to nine countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Brunei Darussalam, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia.

“The government’s support has given us the chance to go global,” Ms Fakih said. “We started in e-commerce and now have physical stores as well.”

Shopee’s programme runs alongside the ministry’s periodic Product Placement Pilihan Busan, which has entered its second cycle and will continue through August 2026.

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