Empowering Community-Based Entrepreneurship In Indonesia Through Inclusive And Innovative Digital Business Ecosystems

Abstract

As digital transformation accelerates globally, ensuring its inclusivity for rural and semi-urban communities becomes increasingly urgent. This study explores how inclusive and innovative digital business ecosystems (DBEs) empower community-based entrepreneurship (CBE) in Indonesia. Employing a qualitative case study design, this research focused on three entrepreneurial clusters in semi-urban areas of West Java, selected for their proactive digital engagement and policy support. A total of 12 community entrepreneurs, 3 local policymakers, and 4 platform enablers were recruited through purposive sampling. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions (FGDs), with thematic analysis conducted using inductive coding. Results reveal that DBEs improve market access, strengthen digital literacy, and foster socio-economic resilience, but their effectiveness depends heavily on trust, local leadership, and institutional mediation. Trust emerged as a key enabler, with adoption being higher in communities where digital platforms were endorsed by trusted local actors. Institutional intermediaries such as digital literacy centers and municipal incubators also played a critical role in facilitating technology diffusion. However, readiness for digital transformation varied across clusters, depending on infrastructure, human capital, and socio-cultural cohesion. To assess this readiness, the study introduces the Community Digital Ecosystem Readiness (Co-DER) framework, which evaluates four key dimensions: human, institutional, technological, and socio-cultural. Findings suggest that empowering CBE through DBEs requires not just access to platforms but systemic, context-sensitive, and socially embedded interventions. The study contributes to inclusive digital transformation policies and proposes targeted capacity-building strategies to reduce digital inequality and promote grassroots innovation.