Gojek Accelerate Economic Recovery through the Digitalization of MSMEs in Makassar

- It was a qualitative descriptive research to determine the role of the digital economy in Makassar City’s economic growth. Data were collected from some websites in Indonesia, and analysed by using NVivo 10 software. The results indicate the acceleration of the digital transformation of MSMEs in Makassar City could not be separated from the support of digital platforms. Before the pandemic, the digital economy, namely Gojek, contributed to economic growth. Makassar City's economy has experienced an increase in MSME turnover registered on social sellers GoFood, GoPay, and GoSend. The digital economy plays a vital role in driving the wheels of the Makassar City economy. In 2021, Gojek and GoTo Financial were estimated to contribute around IDR 4,6 trillion, or 3% of Makassar City's Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). Since data reveals that Gojek Food is encouraging, Gojek is also accelerating digitization and financial inclusion for MSMEs. MSMEs are going digital for the first time (87%) and are using non-cash payments (51%). 37% of GoRide partners and 22% of GoCar partners have saved regularly since joining Gojek. According to estimates, the Gojek ecosystem contributes IDR 249 trillion, or 1.6% of Indonesia’s GDP—resilience and recovery speed through increased revenue, mainly for MSMEs in the Gojek ecosystem. During the pandemic, consumer loyalty aided economic recovery at the national and regional levels.


I. INTRODUCTION
Makassar City is South Sulawesi's capital and one of the largest cities in eastern Indonesia.Tourists often visit Makassar because of its exciting history, culture, and culinary variety (Dhewanto et al., 2022).In 2021, the unemployment rate in Makassar City was 13.18%, a reduction from 15.92% the previous year.In February 2022, it was recorded that 23.909 people were still unemployed, although this number decreased by 30.42% compared to February 2021, which reached 34.361 people.Open unemployment in Makassar is claimed to be high (Ismail et al., 2022).The unemployment rate in Makassar has gradually decreased (Hasniati, Indriasari, & Sirajuddini, 2023) due to the city government's easing of community activities.Figure 1 shows the number of productive citizens aged 15 and over in Makassar City in 2022.
To reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the unemployment rate in Makassar City, the digital platform company Gojek is implementing a program to collect GoFood local champions specifically for culinary to accommodate 350 MSMEs in Makassar City (Kurniawati & Kustulasari, 2020).Gojek commitment to encouraging the best growth for MSMEs and being part of innovation aligns with the City Government's strategic policy according to Makassar's tagline, City of Delicious (Wahyuni & Noviaristanti, 2022).So far, merchants entering the GoFood ecosystem have continued to increase by up to 54%, and by the end of 2022, the growth will reach 1 million MSMEs (Ardiansyah, 2020).
According to data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, Indonesia has a population of 64.2 million MSME actors contributing to the value of the gross domestic product of 61.07%or IDR 8,573.89trillion.The government's role in developing the financial industry and technological advances can synergize optimally (Bachtiar, Vandenberg, & Sawiji, 2022).The number of MSMEs in South Sulawesi Province has reached 751.802 business units (Dewi et al., 2022).The rest are included in the small and medium enterprises category, reaching 88.095 business units, and medium enterprises, as many as 3.129 business units (Azis, Sikar, & Azis, 2022).Other MSMEs include the service sector reaching 214.567 business units.The production sector reached 108.134 business units, and the industry totaled 16.745 business units.Makassar City government projects economic growth in 2023 with a target of 4.90%.Up 0,9% compared to the 2022 target of 4.00%.The revenue budget in the 2023 regional income and expenditure budget is IDR 4.2 trillion, with details of original regional income of IDR 2 trillion, transfer income of IDR 2 trillion, and legitimate local revenue of IDR 182 billion (Simbolon & Yanti, 2021).Life activities for people in urban areas are very complex; thus, an acceleration that can support the activity level and needs is required (Kurniawan et al., 2022).The presence of digital-based applications on smartphones, as in Makassar City, is undoubtedly a tool to assist the demands of urban residents (Munaiseche et al., 2022).During the economic recovery during the pandemic, the role of the digital economy has become increasingly crucial in becoming a growth partner for MSMEs (Surya et al., 2022).Approximately 15,6 thousand e-commerce businesses dominate the sale of food and beverage products, accounting for 41.5% of all sales.Table 1 shows that 14 different types of goods and services have the highest percentage of e-commerce sales in Indonesia.The percentage of e-commerce businesses in Indonesia based on the sort of goods/services sold in 2021 is detailed in Table 1 (BPS, 2022).
MSMEs in South Sulawesi Province have recorded a significant addition of its actors yearly since the COVID-19 pandemic (Karim et al., 2022).The total MSME actors in 2019 were 944.279 businesses.Then it increased to 1.262.952 in 2020, and at the end of December 2021, the number of MSMEs had again increased by 302.182 businesses so that the total of MSMEs in 2021 in South Sulawesi will be 1.565.134businesses.The agricultural sector occupies the first position of the total MSMEs in South Sulawesi, namely 37%, then trade at 29%, followed by services at 19%, non-agriculture at 11%, and other categories at 4%. MSMEs encounter a number of problems, including low product competitiveness that does not absorb the market, limited marketing access, and low product legality, particularly in macroenterprises (Lukito-Budi, Manik, & Indarti, 2022).During the pandemic, the government provided direct aid to 2.173 business units in Makassar City, and 13.277 MSMEs were recorded, consisting of 5.311 household businesses, 4.647 micro-businesses, and 3.319 medium enterprises.In the meantime, the Office of Cooperatives noted a discrepancy of roughly 2.464 MSMEs and MSEs that did not receive direct financial assistance (Tarigan, Doringin, & Budiana, 2022).The research aims to determine the impact of economic growth in Makassar City on the MSME sector through the use of digital platforms.Can the Gojek application help increase the economic development of MSMEs in Makassar City, where marketing MSME products through online services is more practical and easy for most urban residents?It is envisaged that the digitization of MSMEs and financial inclusion in Makassar City will increase through the achievement of original regional income in the income tax sector among the community.One of Gojek's digital platforms, GoFood, led MSMEs to have digital businesses for the first time (87%) and use non-cash payments (51%) in Makassar City.In general, the COVID-19 pandemic is considered a dangerous condition for drivers because it is detrimental to the economy, which depends on the work-on-demand system.In addition to government policies, the virus has caused anxiety in public health aspects, limiting the scope of interaction and preferring to stay at home (Salsabila & Jamiati, 2022).COVID-19 has changed consumer lifestyles that limit activities outside the home to prevent virus transmission (Abdillah, 2020).
The Gojek digital ecosystem's significance in the Indonesian economy prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Sulhan, 2021).Since becoming GoFood partners in 2020, Makassar City's MSMEs have boosted their revenue by 35% (Kilay, Simamora, & Putra, 2022).The turnover of GoSend social sellers has also increased by 10%, and the turnover of MSMEs GoPay has risen by 18% since joining Gojek.In addition, 78% of GoFood MSMEs also experienced an increase in transaction volume, and 98% of them got new customers.The Gojek ecosystem does not only have an impact on MSMEs but outside the ecosystem also receives this impact (Kaplinsky & Kraemer-Mbula, 2022).As with raw material providers in markets and vehicle repair shops, they also benefit from Gojek's presence in Makassar City, with an increase in turnover of 9%.The presence of Gojek in Makassar has contributed to a domino effect in other sectors.

II. METHODS
Methods or methodologies are processes, principles, and procedures we use to approach problems and seek answers.A methodology is a general approach to studying research topics (Mulyana, 2008).The research is classified as descriptive research due to the data acquired in the form of descriptions.The data will subsequently be analyzed to produce an explanation or report on the Gojek application's use as a digital platform for driving economic growth in Makassar City.The data gathered in the research is written data (from articles).As a result, the research can be classified as qualitative-descriptive research.
The purpose of descriptive research is to describe the phenomenon and its characteristics.The research is more concerned with the what than how or why something has happened.Data are frequently collected using observation and survey tools (Arikunto, 2014).The data obtained were collected directly by the researchers themselves, sourced from websites in Indonesia, and then analyzed using the help of the NVivo 10 software.The data collection process was carried out by searching for data that matched the criteria the researchers wanted through the website.Then it is stored and downloaded using the Ncapture feature to make downloading articles on the website more accessible.Then it is stored in the NVivo 10 software using the download feature that used the previous Ncapture on the website.
Data analysis is the process of searching for and then systematically compiling data gathered from web search results, presenting the data, and deriving a conclusion from the data collected and validating the conclusion (Rukin, 2019).Data analysis in the research was carried out by researchers using the NVivo 10 software.Researchers were advised to use the Ncapture feature to easily download articles and enter them into the NVivo 10 software to achieve efficiency and effectiveness goals in research (Nazir, 2014).The most basic thing that every qualitative researcher must consider is how to measure the accuracy or consistency of qualitative research.To be able to determine the level of reliability in this research, researchers can use the help of the NVivo 10 plus software, which has features.Coding comparison queries or coding features are usually used to provide codes or tags to articles with essential words related to the theme chosen by the researcher (Espitia et al., 2016).
NVivo 10 software can display features that are very useful for researchers to analyze the data they want; for example, when researchers are coding or providing code, several of the same nodes will be formed in different articles.From the several nodes formed, it will be straightforward for researchers to find the analysis results between various article sources.In the NVivo 10 software, researchers can efficiently operate it; an example of a feature in the NVivo software is the word cloud feature, which can also be called keywords.It will display keywords or keywords that are important in data analysis.Then there is the hierarchical chart feature, which describes the most discussed in the article.There is also a cluster analysis feature, which can explain the relationship between one keyword and another (Bandur, 2016).

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
E-commerce transactions in Makassar City from 2021 will continue to show a significant trend of increase in nominal and transaction volume.The nominal e-commerce transactions grew by 31.6% or reached IDR 1,79 trillion.In line with this, the number of e-commerce transactions also increased by 68.7% or reached 16,8 million transactions throughout 2021.It shows the tendency of people in Makassar City to be increasingly active in transacting via digital platforms, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic 19 and an increase in public consumption.
These digital transactions positively impact the economic growth of Makassar City in 2022, growing 5.40%, higher than the 2021 achievement, which experienced growth of 4.47%.Gross Regional Domestic Product at current prices was recorded at IDR 208,93 trillion, higher than in 2021, which was only IDR 190,31 trillion.Gross Regional Domestic Product at constant prices has also increased to IDR 133,13 trillion in 2022, higher than in 2021, which was only IDR 126,31 trillion.The following is the percentage of digital activities carried out by the community in supporting economic growth in the City of Makassar based on e-commerce, as shown in Figure 2. The multiplier impact or the indirect contribution of Gojek's existence to Makassar's GRDP in 2019 reached IDR 2,8 trillion.It is calculated from the income of MSMEs outside the Gojek ecosystem (such as workshops used by driver partners or market traders who sell raw materials to GoFood partners) after Gojek operates in Makassar.Gojek services have become the primary choice for consumers in Makassar City at this time, the ability of the Gojek ecosystem to support its partners during the pandemic (Futri, Afisah, & Saputro, 2021).Until now, Gojek's partners are optimistic about using online platforms as a place to make a living in the future.Most consumers use GoRide services more often (83%) and GoCar (87%); 91% use GoFood services more often, and 78% use GoSend more often.Partners get many benefits from online platforms as a place to make a living. 2 per 3 driver partners prioritize time flexibility in partnership with Gojek (Elhan-Kayalar, 2022).
This flexibility allows them to split their time between work and family, and is free to join or cancel offers at any time (Arner et al., 2022).9 out of 10 GoRide driver-partners said they could still have income during the pandemic to support themselves and their families through a partnership with Gojek.Most GoRide and GoCar partners state that their collaboration with Gojek improves their quality of life.Partners appreciate the various supports provided by Gojek, such as discounts from the self-help program.Initiatives to maintain security, health, cleanliness of partners, and insurance membership services.As of July 2022.66% of Indonesian shoppers directly access online shopping sites; this is the only channel that has experienced an increase.Meanwhile, access through search engines, social media, and advertisements decreased by 13%.From the third quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2022, the number of visitors to the top ten e-commerce websites climbed by 64% nationally.The top ten e-commerce sites with the most visitors in Indonesia since the second quarter of 2022 on websites for digital services are as indicated in Figure 3.The reliability of Gojek's ecosystem and solutions helps MSMEs and novice entrepreneurs continue to grow amid a pandemic.The income of GoFood MSME partners in Makassar City will increase by an average of 28% in 2021 compared to 2020. 1 out of 3 MSME partners are novice entrepreneurs who go digital immediately, and most MSME actors believe GoFood encourages business growth.The main benefits that MSMEs feel from partnering with GoFood are 1) the opportunity to participate in the GoFood promotional program, 2) expanding market access, 3) ease of operational management through the GoBiz application, and 4) the ability to send food via Gojek drivers.The majority of MSMEs think that GoFood's commission fees are by the benefits they get.The existence of the Gojek ecosystem helps increase the income of driver partners and MSMEs during the pandemic.Most Makassar consumers (87%) still use the Gojek application, even without promos.It reflects consumers' positive perceptions of the Gojek ecosystem as a platform that supports society to remain productive and safe during a pandemic.
Through innovation and technology, Gojek makes it easier for people to undergo a digital adaptation process during the COVID-19 pandemic.5 Gojek services that are the mainstay of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely: 1) food ordering services and daily shopping (GoFood and GoMart), 2) digital payment services (GoPay), 3) digital donation services (GoPay), 4) entertainment services and productivity (GoGames, GoPlay, and GoTix), and 5) GoSend services.Even though this pandemic brought many challenges, the above trends show how Gojek users can adapt to a new way of life using digital services.On the other hand, Gojek will continue to innovate and use its technology to serve users, and the entire Gojek ecosystem will adapt to a new way of life.The Gojek platform has partnered with 16 applications, namely GoPay, GoClub, GoBilling, GoRide, GoCar, Gojek, GoSend, GoBox, GoFood, GoMed, GoMart, GoPlay, GoTix, GoBiz, GoGames, and GoShop.Gojek is a digital platform that utilizes advanced technology, more precisely in terms of area (GPS).Naturally, Gojek is really useful and makes it simple for many people to travel; simply by clicking and ordering via smartphone, they may go anywhere if the location is within reach.Gojek is an online transportation service that offers Gojek, GoCar, GoFood, GoSend, GoMart, GoShop, and GoBox.
To encourage banking intermediation to the real sector and MSMEs, one of the efforts made by Bank Indonesia is to provide information on MSME profile data that are not currently receiving bank financing but need credit/financing in the framework of developing their business (Fauzi & Sheng, 2021).With the availability of MSME profile data in question, it is hoped that it can provide benefits for parties, especially for MSMEs, to accelerate access to financing from banks (Karim et al., 2021).MSME profile data present entrepreneur information data (company name, length of business, address, etc.) as well as business data which includes information on business activities, level of business competition, total assets, average annual sales, projected growth, financing needs, estimates assets for credit guarantees as well as the number of credit requirement documents (Perwitasari, 2022) if you want to get complete information from MSME profile data which includes the composition of owners and managers, lists of suppliers and customers, and business finances (balance sheet, profit and loss, and cash flow).
Digital-based MSMEs positively contribute to the realization of Makassar City government revenue, as seen in Table 2.
MSMEs have proven to be the main pillar of the national economy after contributing up to 60% of the National GDP in 2021 or during a pandemic.MSMEs surviving during a pandemic are key in accelerating national economic recovery.Gojek in Makassar City helps sustain the income of thousands of MSMEs by utilizing the technological and non-technological solutions presented.Gojek provided digital marketing training and the registration process to become a GoFood business partner to 30 MSMEs in Makassar through the integrated business service center for South Sulawesi Province.Digitalization of MSMEs to accelerate regional economic recovery.It is certainly not easy; the challenges MSMEs face are mainly related to readiness in terms of products and human resources.In addition, efforts to increase literacy for the benefits of entering the digital ecosystem and incubation to accelerate MSME readiness need to be carried out intensively.67,204,193.74 54,184,449.34Regional owned company revenue and separated management of regional wealth The digital economy plays a significant role in driving the wheels of the economy in Makassar City.The role of the digital economy during this pandemic has become increasingly important to encourage the growth of MSMEs, which are the backbone of the national and regional economies.The acceleration of the digital transformation of MSMEs in Makassar City cannot be separated from the support of digital platforms, one of which is Gojek.During normal times prior to the pandemic, the digital economy, such as Gojek, played an important role in driving the economy in Makassar City, South Sulawesi, by raising the turnover of GoFood MSME, GoPay MSME, and GoSend social sellers.The turnover of GoSend social sellers has also increased by 10%, and the turnover of GoPay MSME has increased by 18% since joining Gojek.In addition, 78% of GoFood MSMEs also experienced an increase in transaction volume, and 98% of them got new customers.
Gojek's presence in Makassar has had a domino effect in other sectors, namely the multiplier impact or the indirect contribution of Gojek's existence to Makassar's GRDP in 2019, reaching IDR 2,8 trillion.It is calculated from the income of MSMEs outside the Gojek ecosystem (such as workshops used by driver partners or market traders who sell raw materials to GoFood partners) after Gojek operates in Makassar.Gojek strives to respond to the various needs of MSMEs to adapt and grow.It is done to realize Gojek's commitment to supporting the implementation of MSME training and onboarding facilitation into the Gojek ecosystem.In addition to digital adoption, MSMEs need assistance from the time they join to selling online in the form of education and capacity building to optimize business growth.
Therefore, through digital solutions and educational forums, Gojek can continue to be a partner and solution for MSMEs to continue to grow in advancing the national economy.Most online traders in Indonesia use online logistics services from the Gojek application, namely GoSend.An online logistics service that provides ease of use of applications and best supports seller productivity by providing the most efficient service.GoSend is also an online logistics service that provides its users with the most sense of security, above the average industry satisfaction (Rauf et al., 2021).Online logistics services in Indonesia continue to grow along with the development of online shopping trends through e-commerce, social media, or other media.Most digital service users are aged between 18 to 29 years (45.83%) and 30 to 41 years (41.67%), with an average monthly income of IDR 2,5 million to IDR 5 million (31.58%) and IDR 5 million to IDR 10 million (28.95%).Express online shopping services (quick commerce) are quite popular in Indonesia.The products most frequently purchased by the public through quick commerce are necessities, snacks, cooking necessities, and vegetables and fruit.
The presence of online transportation applications in Makassar City positively impacts the national economy.The Gojek application has contributed to the provision of employment and increased sales of MSMEs digitally.The contribution of Gojek partners to Makassar City's gross regional domestic product in 2021 will reach IDR 4,8 trillion or contribute to driving 3% of Makassar City's GRDP.If calculated using the added value method to the Makassar economy, Gojek will contribute IDR 4,6 trillion in 2021.The turnover of MSMEs that have joined GoFood in 2021 will increase by 35%, the turnover of GoSend social sellers will increase by 10%, and the turnover of GoPay MSMEs will increase by 18% since joining GoJek.Meanwhile, 78% of GoFood MSMEs also experienced an increase in transaction volume, and 98% of them got new customers.During the economic recovery period during the pandemic, the role of the digital economy has become increasingly crucial in becoming a growth partner for MSMEs.Gojek also accelerated the digitization of MSMEs and financial inclusion, as shown by data that GoFood also led MSMEs to have digital businesses for the first time (87%) and use non-cash payments (51%).
The research focuses more on the Gojek platform, which increasingly shows its existence as an on-demand platform in the country, especially in Makassar City through MSMEs.It first appeared in 2010 and went viral because it provided income of IDR 8 million for motorcycle taxi drivers.Gojek appears to have been in operation for 12 years.During this time, it is envisaged that Gojek driver-partners would reach 2,6 million, able to become employed to reduce the poverty rate in Makassar City, which has climbed by 74,69 thousand people, an increase of 69,98 thousand people compared to 2020.The percentage of poor people was 4.82%, an increase compared to 2020 of 4.54%, an increase of 0,28 points from December 2020.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, communities that have joined the GoFood application since 2021 have surpassed 1 million partners.Gojek motorbike or GoRide driver-partners experienced an increase in income of up to 24% compared to 2020.Not much less than GoRide, partners who provide Gojek car or GoCar services also experienced an increase in income of up to 18%.In 2021, Gojek driver revenue has increased by 24%, while GoCar driver revenue has increased by 18%.MSME partners 4 out of 5 believe that GoFood, a Gojek service for ordering food, has driven their business development.
It also affects 9 out of 10 partners who plan to have a long-term partnership with GoFood.Another finding is that 1 out of 3 GoFood business partners is novice entrepreneurs who immediately go digital.Compared to their partners, who are GoRide and GoCar partners, the income of these GoFood partners has grown more rapidly.In 2021, GoFood MSME partners will experience an increase in income of 66%.This figure is greater than income in 2020.Not only for personal income, but the contribution of the Gojek ecosystem to the national economy in 2020 has also reached IDR 249 trillion.This figure is equivalent to 1.6% of GDP in 2020.Gojek has sent 14 million orders to more than 200 cities in Indonesia.Meanwhile, as of December 2021, there were 15,1 million merchants in the GoTo ecosystem.As well as, 59,3 million users transact via GoTo.This research will likely serve as a reference for further research in studying Gojek's role in unraveling regional economic development.

IV. CONCLUSIONS
Since its establishment, Gojek has been an application that provides online transportation facilities and competes with other online transportation applications in Indonesia.Gojek, an application founded through the work of the nation's children from 2010 until now, has provided 22 application services.The Gojek ecosystem continues to contribute positively to the national economy every year.Gojek's technological and non-technological solutions help driver-partners and micro, small, and medium enterprises to be more resilient and recover their economy more quickly through increasing income in 2021 compared to 2020.The Gojek application has provided employment and reduced poverty in Makassar City.It can be seen from the increase in the GRDP of Makassar City every year through the development of the number of MSMEs in the community.The presence of Gojek in Makassar City, apart from increasing GRDP at a macro level, this digital-based application can contribute to the occurrence of economic transactions in densely populated residential areas.
The presence of digital platforms such as Gojek has a positive impact on the community in meeting their needs for meeting the necessities of life, a positive impact on the income of Gojek drivers and sales of MSME products.So that policies are needed that are more impartial and think about the fate of the drivers for the sake of family economic sustainability for the drivers.The Gojek company should be more open to receiving external researchers to add to the study of company policies so that they can improve and develop institutions in a better direction.Future researchers are expected to examine more sources and references related to the impact of the Gojek online platform on reducing unemployment rates in Makassar City.MSMEs in Makassar City who partner with Gojek significantly impact the increasing income of MSMEs who partner with Gojek in Makassar City.Furthermore, researchers suggest that MSMEs in Makassar City, especially those who partner with GoJek, should focus more on using e-commerce applications.To improve skills that will increase the income of MSMEs in Makassar City.Likewise, other MSMEs have not penetrated e-commerce as a tool for marketing their products.

Figure 1
Figure 1 Total Population of Makassar City Aged 15 Years and Over Source: Central Bureau of Statistics for Makassar City, 2022

Figure 2
Figure 2 The percentage of digital transaction payments in Makassar City Source: Author's findings, 2022

Table 2
Actual Makassar Municipal Government Revenues by Kind of Revenues (Thousand IDR), 2020-2021