BANDUNG, Indonesia, Oct. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have long been the backbone of Indonesia's economy, contributing significantly to its growth and playing a vital role in combating unemployment. Recent data reveals that more than 62 million businesses operate within the nation's borders, with 99% categorized as micro size businesses. These enterprises collectively employ millions of Indonesians, providing job opportunities that aid in alleviating the country's unemployment challenges, affecting over 8.4 million individuals, as reported by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). Nevertheless, SMEs face numerous challenges that must be confronted.
Evermos, one of Indonesia's leading connected commerce, has released its inaugural Sustainability Report under the theme "Fostering Local Culture." Through extensive research, underscores the common obstacles faced by SME and aspiring entrepreneurs, including business scale, remote business locations, limited managerial experience, initial capital constraints, and restricted market exposure. Evermos stands committed to providing essential services and training, actively supporting Indonesian SMEs growth to strengthen their value chain and foster entrepreneurship.
This report was meticulously crafted through extensive on-ground assessments of Evermos' vast value chain ecosystem, primarily focusing on resellers and local brands throughout the year 2022. It is prepared with reference to the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), a framework that is widely used for sustainability reporting and UN Women's WEPS (Women Empowerment Principles). In addition, some of our business practices are referring to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards. The report is designed and intended for the public and relevant stakeholders as a valuable study and reference on how local culture can be harnessed and empowered to enhance local economic productivity.
As outlined in the report, the challenges faced by SMEs can be effectively addressed by enabling a sustainable value chain, encompassing the holistic and environmentally responsible management of all processes and activities involved. Evermos has already initiated this endeavor by providing education on sustainability practices and conducting ESG assessments for SMEs. Simultaneously, with a specific focus on female resellers, Evermos remains unwavering in its commitment to granting access, opportunities, and training. This dedication to training is exemplified by the remarkable milestone of conducting over 15,000 hours of training sessions for resellers, granting them the potential to earn monthly income of USD 43 in average and USD 191, for the top performer resellers.
Iqbal Muslimin, Co-Founder and Chief of Sustainability at Evermos, asserts, "Our goal is to enhance the productivity of SMEs and local entrepreneurs. Through this report, we wish to convey our existing initiatives, serving as a foundation and baseline for our sustainability endeavors. The impact it has generated is just a glimpse of what we aspire to achieve, motivating us to make an even more profound and extensive impact on the community."
In looking to the future, Evermos is firm in its commitment to advancing sustainability initiatives that will not only uplift the productivity for SMEs and local entrepreneurs but also drive lasting positive change in the community and the environment. Our aspiration is to continue expanding our impact, fostering responsible and environmentally conscious practices across the value chain, and providing even more comprehensive support to resellers and local brands.
For more information about Evermos' "Fostering Local Culture" Sustainability Report, please visit https://evermos.id/impact/sustainability-report-2022/
About Evermos
Evermos is a connected commerce platform that empowers local brands and underserved communities by providing a distribution network and commerce services focused on curated products based on Sharia principles. Evermos is a one-stop platform that offers comprehensive support services for local brands and a network of resellers. It is equipped with various training programs to support the success of all resellers regardless of their gender, educational background, geographic location, or income level.
Established in November 2018, Evermos has built the largest reseller-based connected commerce network in Indonesia, with over 165,000 active sellers across the country and 1,600 MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) partners. To date, Evermos has received numerous industry awards, including the Forbes Asia 100 to Watch award in the Asia-Pacific region, the UN Women 2022 Indonesian Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) award, and membership in the global Endeavor Entrepreneur network. Evermos is also a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Innovators Community, an invitation-only group of the most promising startup and scale-up companies worldwide at the forefront of technological innovation and ethical business models.
