A Community Engagement team from the Management Study Program conducts a Community Engagement program in collaboration with the Surakarta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN Surakarta). The program carries the theme “Business Process Literacy as a Foundation for Digital Solutions for MSMEs” and targets MSME entrepreneurs supported by KADIN Surakarta.

The initiative aims to improve participants’ understanding of business processes and decision-making as a foundation for effective digital transformation. Throughout the activities, MSME participants are trained to examine their business processes by identifying and reflecting on 20 business decisions they have previously made. The activity applies participatory learning and step-laddering techniques, which enhance the quality of group discussions and decision-making.

The head of the Community Engagement team, Drs. Yong Dirgiatmo, M.Sc., Ph.D., explains that many MSME entrepreneurs continue to rely on intuition when running their businesses without distinguishing between strategic and operational decisions. He states, “Understanding business processes is essential for entrepreneurs to determine priorities and select digital technologies that genuinely support their needs.”

The program also introduces the McKinsey decision-making framework, which classifies decisions into four categories: big bets, cross-cutting decisions, delegated decisions, and ad hoc decisions. This framework helps participants recognize that digital transformation requires careful analysis of business processes.

In addition, MSME entrepreneurs receive guidance on various digital solutions that can support business management, including accounting applications, CRM platforms, collaboration systems, and digital marketing tools. Participants are encouraged to align decision categories with the most effective technologies to ensure targeted digitalization.

Evaluation results indicate that more than 80 percent of participants experience improved understanding of business processes and digital readiness. Most participants express their intention to adopt at least one digital technology in the near future to enhance business efficiency.

KADIN Surakarta welcomes the program and encourages continuous assistance for MSME entrepreneurs. David R Wijaya, SE, Executive Director of KADIN Surakarta, states, “MSME digitalization must begin with strong business literacy. We appreciate the academic contribution toward building this foundation.”

As a follow-up, the Community Engagement team plans to establish an MSME Digitalization Clinic to assist entrepreneurs in applying technology in stages, beginning with digital record-keeping and progressing to analytics-based marketing.

This Community Engagement program supports SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by improving MSME capacity, SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) by strengthening business process literacy and the application of digital solutions, and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through collaboration between the university and KADIN Surakarta.