Overcoming Barriers for Indonesia’s Women-Led Food SMEs in Export
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31098/ijeass.v5i2.3748Keywords:
Women Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Export ReadinessAbstract
This study examines the export potential of women-led Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia's processed food sector by identifying key challenges and proposing targeted strategies for growth. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research surveyed 191 SMEs and collected qualitative insights through Focus Group Discussions and in-depth interviews with women entrepreneurs. An analytical framework was employed to classify their export readiness. The findings confirm that while these SMEs possess significant export potential, they are constrained by interconnected barriers, including limited access to finance, insufficient knowledge of international markets, low digital literacy, and socio-cultural obstacles. A key contribution of the study is the classification of SMEs into three tiers of export readiness: "having export potential," "on the right track," and "not ready to export." This framework reveals the need for tailored support mechanisms rather than generic, one-size-fits-all solutions. The paper addresses a notable gap in research on the internationalization of women-led SMEs within a major developing economy. By applying a unique analytical framework to empirical data, it moves beyond a general discussion of barriers by offering specific and actionable policy recommendations tailored to the needs of women entrepreneurs in a sector critical for their economic empowerment.
References
Abor, J., & Biekpe, N. (2006). SMEs' access to debt finance: A comparison of male-owned and female-owned businesses in Ghana. Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 7(2), 105-112.
Anggadwita, G., & Indarti, N. (2023). Women entrepreneurship in the internationalization of SMEs: a bibliometric analysis for future research directions. European Business Review, 35(5), 763-796. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-01-2023-0006
Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2019). Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor 2019. Mandaluyong City, Philippines: ADB.
Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2022). Asian Development Outlook 2022: Mobilizing Taxes for Development. Manila: ADB.
Bacasmas, J. A. V., Carlos, J. C. T., & Katigbak, J. J. P. (2022). E-Commerce adoption and its impact on the performance of women-led MSMEs in Metro Manila: An ex-ante study for RCEP. PIDS Discussion Paper Series, No. 2022-03, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), Quezon City.
Bain & Company. (2023). e-Conomy SEA 2023: Reaching new heights.
Baporikar, N. (2022). Women Entrepreneurship for Sustainability. In Women Empowerment and Sustainable Development (pp. 94-112). IGI Global.
Bappenas (Ministry of National Development Planning). (2023). Master Plan for the Indonesian Halal Industry 2023-2029. Jakarta: Bappenas.
Boutaleb, A. (2021). Women's participation in international trade in the MENA region. In The forum for research on eastern Europe and emerging economies.
Brush, C. G. (1992). Research on women business owners: Past trends, a new perspective and future directions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 16(4), 5-30.
Brush, C. G., de Bruin, A., & Welter, F. (2009). A gender-aware framework for women's entrepreneurship. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 1(1), 8-24.
Davies, R. B., & Mazhikeyev, A. (2021). The glass border: Gender and exporting in developing countries. The World Economy, 44, 879-903. https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.13075
Dharmawansa, A. D., Balasooriya, B., & Madhuwanthi, R. (2023). Evaluating the use of E-commerce for the performance of the SME sector. International Journal of Information, Business and Management, 15(2), 253-272.
Disli, M., Schoof, U., & Yilmaz, I. S. (2024). Women Entrepreneurs during COVID-19: Evidence from an Emerging Economy. The Journal of Development Studies, 1-19.
Expósito, A., Sanchis-Llopis, A., & Sanchis-Llopis, J. A. (2022). Manager gender, entrepreneurial orientation, and SMEs’ export and import propensities: evidence for Spanish businesses. Eurasian Business Review, 12(2), 315-347.
Gabungan Pengusaha Makanan dan Minuman Indonesia (GAPMMI). (2024). Industry Outlook and Export Performance Report. Jakarta: GAPMMI.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). (2021). 2020/2021 Women's Entrepreneurship Report: Thriving Through Crisis. Global Entrepreneurship Research Association.
GSMA Foundation. (2021). The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021. London, UK: GSMA.
Henson, S., & Jaffee, S. (2008). Understanding the dynamics of agri-food value chains. In The Transformation of Agri-Food Systems (pp. 171-190). Routledge.
IFC. (2016). Women-owned SMEs in Indonesia: A Golden Opportunity for Local Financial Institutions. International Finance Corporation.
IFC. (2021). Women-Owned SMEs in Emerging Markets: A Trillion Dollar Opportunity. International Finance Corporation.
International Trade Centre (ITC). (2020). The SME Competitiveness Outlook 2020: The Great Lockdown and its Impact on Small Business. Geneva: ITC.
Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J. E. (2009). The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership. Journal of International Business Studies, 40(9), 1411-1431.
Kaberia, S. K., & Muathe, S. M. A. (2021). Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on Performance of Women Owned Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 9(1), 7-21. https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v9i1.5089
Kementerian Perindustrian (Kemenperin). (2024). Food and Beverage Industry Growth and Investment Report Q4 2024. Jakarta: Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia.
Knight, G. A., & Cavusgil, S. T. (2004). Innovation, organizational capabilities, and the born-global firm. Journal of International Business Studies, 35(2), 124-141.
Kumar, P., & Singh, S. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on women-led businesses. Journal of Public Affairs, 21(4), e2653.
Malecki, E. J. (2012). Regional social capital: Why it matters. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 5(3), 329-360.
Marlow, S., & Martinez Dy, A. (2018). Is it time to part ways? A critical reflection on the utility of ‘female entrepreneurship’. International Small Business Journal, 36(5), 495-515.
McKinsey Global Institute. (2022). Diversity Matters Even More: The Case for Holistic Impact. McKinsey & Company.
Mulyanti, R. Y., Wati, L. N., & Suhana. (2025). What factors influence the internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)? A gender-based approach. Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Terapan Universitas Jambi, 9(1), 253-272. https://doi.org/10.22437/jiituj.v9i1.38816
Muravyev, A., Talavera, O., & Schäfer, D. (2009). Entrepreneurs' gender and financial constraints: Evidence from international data. Journal of Comparative Economics, 37(2), 270-286.
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge University Press.
OECD. (2021). The Missing Entrepreneurs 2021: Policies for Inclusive Entrepreneurship. Paris: OECD Publishing.
Orser, B., Riding, A., & Townsend, J. (2004). Exporting as a Means of Growth for Women-owned Canadian SMES. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 17(3), 153-174. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2004.10593317
Pergelova, A., Manolova, T., Simeonova-Ganeva, R., & Yordanova, D. (2019). Democratizing entrepreneurship? Digital technologies and the internationalization of female-led SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management, 57(1), 14-39.
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster.
Samy, Y., Adedeji, A., Iraoya, A., Dutta, M. K., Fakmawii, J. L., & Hao, W. (2023). Trade and Women's Economic Empowerment: Evidence from Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39039-5
Sui, S., & Morgan, H. M. (2024). Home Peers, Business Owners' Gender, and the Export Intensity of SMEs. Journal of Comparative International Management, 1-39. https://doi.org/10.55482/jcim.2024.33565
Tambunan, T. (2009). Export-oriented small and medium industry clusters in Indonesia. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 3(1), 25-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506200910943661
TFO Canada. (2022). Trade and Women Economic Empowerment: Capstone Report.
UN Women. (2021). Gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of trade. Background paper for the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
UNCTAD. (2022). Digital Economy Report 2022: Cross-border data flows and development: For whom the data flow. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Welter, F. (2011). Contextualizing entrepreneurship—conceptual challenges and ways forward. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(1), 165-184.
Wibowo, W. (2021). Women in Trade for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth Project (Indonesia’s Processed Food Sector): Bringing Varieties of Unique Processed Food Products from Indonesia to the World Markets Through Empowered Women-Led SMEs. TFO Canada.
World Bank Group and World Trade Organization. (2015). The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty. World Trade Organization.
World Bank. (2023). Women, Business and the Law 2023. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Wu, R. (2022). COVID-19's Impacts on Business Activities and Female Workers: Empirical Evidence from Global Developing Economies. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4164274
Downloads
Published
Citation Check
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Wahyudi Wibowo, Visi Saujaningati Kristyanto, Purnomohadi Sutedjo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Content Licensing, Copyright, and Permissions
1. License
International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) has CC-BY NC or an equivalent license as the optimal license for the publication, distribution, use, and reuse of scholarly work for non-commercial purposes. The non-commercial use of the article will be governed by the Creative Commons Attribution license as currently displayed on Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Creative Commons License
2. Author’s Warranties
The author warrants that the article is original, written by stated author(s), has not been published before, contains no unlawful statements, does not infringe the rights of others, is subject to copyright that is vested exclusively in the author and free of any third party rights, and that any necessary written permissions to quote from other sources have been obtained by the author(s).
3. User Rights
International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) objective is to disseminate articles published are as free as possible. Under the Creative Commons license, this journal permits users to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work for non-commercial purposes only. Users will also need to attribute authors and this journal on distributing works in the journal.
4. Rights of Authors
Authors retain the following rights:
Copyright, and proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,
The right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books, The right to reproduce the article for own purposes, The right to self-archive the article, the right to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the article's published version (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal (International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) ).
The author has a non-exclusive publishing contract with a publisher and the work is published with a more restrictive license, the author retains all the rights to publish the work elsewhere, including commercially, because she/he is not subject to the conditions of her / his own license, regardless of the type of CC license chosen.
5. Co-Authorship
If the article was jointly prepared by other authors, the signatory of this form warrants that he/she has been authorized by all co-authors to sign this agreement on their behalf, and agrees to inform his/her co-authors of the terms of this agreement.
6. Termination
This agreement can be terminated by the author or International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) two months’ notice where the other party has materially breached this agreement and failed to remedy such breach within a month of being given the terminating party’s notice requesting such breach to be remedied. No breach or violation of this agreement will cause this agreement or any license granted in it to terminate automatically or affect the definition of International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS).
7. Royalties
This agreement entitles the author to no royalties or other fees. To such extent as legally permissible, the author waives his or her right to collect royalties relative to the article in respect of any use of the article by This agreement can be terminated by the author or International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) upon two months’ notice where the other party has materially breached this agreement and failed to remedy such breach within a month of being given the terminating party’s notice requesting such breach to be remedied. No breach or violation of this agreement will cause this agreement or any license granted in it to terminate automatically or affect the definition of the International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) or its sublicensee.
8. Miscellaneous
International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) will publish the article (or have it published) in the journal if the article’s editorial process is successfully completed and the International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) or its sublicensee has become obligated to have the article published. International Journal of Entrpreneurship and Sustainability Studies (IJEASS) may conform the article to a style of punctuation, spelling, capitalization, referencing, and usage that it deems appropriate. The author acknowledges that the article may be published so that it will be publicly accessible and such access will be free of charge for the readers
