PORTALJABAR, DISTRICT. GARUT - The Garut Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Service (Diskop UKM) held an Empowerment of Micro Enterprises for Inclusive Development of Persons with Disabilities event which took place at the Kassiti Fave Hotel Ballroom, Jalan Raya Cimanuk, Tarogong Kidul District, Garut Regency (14/5/2024).

Head of the Garut UKM Discop, Rizky Ridznurdhin, revealed that the big theme of today's activities is inclusive development specifically for UKM players with the tagline "Opening Boundaries, Opening Opportunities" for disabled people in Garut Regency.

Where, according to Ridzky, all people, especially people with disabilities, have the same opportunity to contribute to aspects of life, including the economy.

"The main goal, that's where our theme is. No matter how small, we need to appreciate their products, and we need to encourage them," he said.

Ridzky explained that this event was attended by 30 disabled participants, dominated by women. He said that women have a very strategic role in terms of development and the family economy.

"So they become heroes when they sometimes have a double burden, on the one hand they are wives, they have to take care of their husbands and children, but sometimes they are also the backbone of the economy, that's why it's important," he said.

He hopes that the output produced in this activity will be increased competence for disabled people, especially in the field of digital marketing. In this case, Ridzky revealed that his party is collaborating with Grab.

"Imagine, with their physical limitations, they could actually sell online, yes, that's why I'm encouraging it there, collaborating with Grab," he said.

Meanwhile, the speaker who is also the MSME Upgrading Assistant, Fitria Zakiah, revealed that the platforms used in today's digital marketing material are WhatsApp and Facebook, because these two platforms are widely used and are familiar to the public.

Fitria said that this time the material was provided using an interactive method so that participants could actively discuss digital marketing. Previously, continued Fitria, the participants only marketed their products through word of mouth strategies. However, with digital marketing today, participants can market their products more widely.

"The hope is that MSMEs will push themselves more, force themselves to keep up with the times because no matter how many competitors they have, even though their products are considered marketable, they each have their own uniqueness," he said.

In the same place, one of the participants, Hari Supriatna (33), from Panawuan Village, Tarogong Kidul District, revealed that he had a food product under the brand Tuman KUA (Tukang Makan Chicken Intestine Chips).

"I've only been running for almost a month, only recently, because the name comes from a channel, bro, from a YouTube channel, Facebook, and now food too," he said.

In this activity, he wanted information regarding Business Identification Numbers (NIB) and Halal Certificates. Apart from that, on this occasion he also received education about digital marketing.

"Hopefully, after I take part in today's activity, it can run according to my expectations, my selling can also expand, it can go to various places, and it can be enjoyed by the wider community too," he concluded.