The Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises stated that the market is the backbone of the current Indonesian economy, especially traditional markets. The market is said to be a representative in developing the economy besides traditional markets.

Data from Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (KPPU) in 2010 showed that the number of traditional markets in Indonesia reached 13,450 markets with around 12.6 million small traders (www.kppu.go.id). This number is far different from the number of modern markets as many as 23,000 store units from 14,000 minimarket business groups and 9,000 supermarkets.

In a study conducted by Nielsen (2005) it was seen that since the appearance of the modern market in 2001, the contribution of the modern market that began only 24.8% increased to 34.4% and the traditional market turnover decreased from 75.2% to 65.6%. The decline is the reason why we need to increase the competence of human resources in the traditional markets because they lack the competence of human resources capable of managing finances in the traditional markets.

This is the reason for Telkom University to cooperate with Asparindo (Indonesian Market Management Association) and Bangun Bina Persada as the market manager to organize Community Service activities at Panorama Lembang Market to foster and provide training for local market traders. Community Service event held annually has been held on September 25, 2018. This event is intended to provide financial administration training and competitive strategy for the managers and market traders Panorama Lembang.

During the training, traders were very enthusiastic about asking questions related to the benefits of financial preparation and the use of competitive strategies in the market.

Overall, both traders and market managers received this event very well and enthusiastically, and felt great benefits from this event. One enthusiastic participant also even asked whether Telkom University would again hold a similar event in other markets.

Community Service events like this have actually been held also in the previous year. In 2016 the event was held at Batujajar Cermat Market, in 2017 similar training was also held at Banjaran Traditional Market, Ciparay Traditional Market, and Cililin Traditional Market, and this year it was held at Pasar Lembang Panorama. It is hoped that this event can also continue to be carried out in other traditional markets in Bandung, as one form of Telkom University’s dedication to the community.