Nusantara (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government has taken steps toward achieving zero poverty in the country’s future capital, Nusantara (IKN), with a special focus on promoting the digitalization of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).This approach is being pursued by the IKN Authority (OIKN) to realize equitable welfare in the new capital, which is under construction in parts of North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara districts in East Kalimantan Province.”We are organizing and implementing a range of activities and programs to support IKN’s development goals, including the zero-poverty target by 2035,” said Conrita Ermanto, Deputy for Community Empowerment at the OIKN, in North Penajam Paser on Sunday.He noted that the OIKN has chosen to focus on fostering an enabling digital ecosystem for local MSMEs to thrive, citing initiatives such as online sales facilitation, marketing and promotion support, incentive schemes, and capacity-building programs.In collaboration with Bank Indonesia (BI), the authority is committed to empowering and guiding MSMEs to play an active role in stimulating local economies and contributing to the development of the future seat of government, he added.Elaborating further, Ermanto noted that the OIKN and BI have partnered to hold workshops aimed at improving digital finance literacy and product legality among MSME actors in the sub-districts of Samboja and West Samboja in Kutai Kartanegara.He underscored that Samboja and West Samboja are strategically positioned as buffer zones for the planned city, respectively housing 13 and 10 villages.He added that 60 MSME owners from each sub-district learned to enhance competitiveness and professionalism under the capacity-building program, which was essentially designed to help local businesses “grow side by side with IKN’s development.”