Digitalization of Village Plantation Business: Simple E-Business Training Based on Whatsapp and Marketplace

Abstract

Plantation communities in rural Indonesia, particularly in Pangalengan Village of Bandung Regency, predominantly rely on conventional sales channels such as direct transactions with middlemen, which result in uncompetitive pricing and limited market access. Although most farmers already own smartphones and use WhatsApp daily, low digital literacy prevents them from utilizing these tools for business development. This community service activity aimed to enhance the digital business capacity of village plantation farmers through hands-on training on WhatsApp Business and online marketplaces. The implementation method comprised four stages: needs analysis, socialization (Day 1), practical training (Day 2), and evaluation. Fifty participants from Pangalengan Village joined the two-day training program. Results indicate substantial improvement in participants’ digital literacy: 92% successfully created active WhatsApp Business accounts with product catalogs, and 76% uploaded at least one product to Tokopedia or Shopee. The average pre-test score rose from 34 to 81 (out of 100) on the post-test. The activity successfully shifted participants’ marketing approach from traditional to digital, expanding market access and reducing dependence on middlemen.