Dr. Dina Dellyana, Associate Professor and Business Incubator Coordinator at the School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung (SBM ITB), was invited as a panelist at the 2026 Asia Grassroots Forum held on 3–4 June 2026 at Shangri-La Jakarta. In the panel titled “From Micro to Market: Closing the Missing Middle,” she shared insights on how to help micro and small enterprises scale up and access wider markets and finance.
During the discussion, Dr. Dina highlighted the role of universities as ecosystem orchestrators that not only educate students but also build end-to-end support for entrepreneurs—from ideation, incubation, acceleration, to access to capital and markets. She emphasized that curricula must be co-designed with industry and grassroots actors, integrating real projects with MSMEs, fintechs, and investors, so that learning outcomes are directly aligned with market needs.
She also underlined several gaps in current SME support programs, such as fragmented initiatives, finance that is not accompanied by capability building, and the absence of clear graduation pathways from microfinance to commercial funding. Learning from other ecosystems, she pointed to the importance of blended finance, impact investing, and strong collaboration between government, financial institutions, and universities to support inclusive and sustainable growth.
At the end of the session, Dr. Dina stressed that collaboration between academia and industry must be structural and outcome-oriented, through joint innovation labs, co-funded pilot projects, and data-sharing partnerships. She reaffirmed SBM ITB’s commitment to contributing to Indonesia’s grassroots economy by strengthening its business incubator, research, and partnerships that support entrepreneurs to grow from micro to market-ready businesses.
