INDONESIA-PHILIPPINES LECTURER COLLABORATION IN TECHNOLOGY-BASED EMPOWERMENT OF MSMES AND HONEY BEEKEEPERS: AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE AT THE 1ST AFEBSI CONGRESS

Abstract

The healthy lifestyle trend has created market opportunities for natural-product MSMEs, including honey beekeepers, yet natural resources do not automatically become competitive advantage due to limited digital literacy, packaging, marketing, and branding capacity. This international community service program aimed to empower MSMEs and honey beekeepers through digital marketing, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce to enhance competitiveness and expand market reach. The program was conducted as part of the 1st AFEBSI Congress by DPN AFEBSI with Philippine Women’s University in Jakarta on October 14, 2026, involving approximately 126 lecturers from universities across Indonesia who served as the implementation team representing their respective campuses. The community service team came from Dinamika Bangsa University, Philippine Women’s University, Swiss German University, Faletehan University, Muhammadiyah University of Jambi, Pignatelli Triputra University, and Mercu Buana University. The program was carried out through focus group discussions (FGDs) in several groups that brought together speakers from the Philippines and lecturers from Indonesia, using the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Pentahelix collaboration as the analytical framework. The FGD results show that honey is a valuable resource that becomes a competitive advantage only when managed through quality management, packaging, branding, and digital marketing, and supported by collaboration among academia, business, community, government, and media. The program also strengthened cross-country and cross-university academic networks. Empowering MSMEs and honey beekeepers requires continuous lecturer-led mentoring, consistent product quality, and producer integrity to maintain consumer trust.