Designing an Integrated E-Commerce Digital Financial Platform for Small Coastal Industries Based on the Blue Economy

Abstract

Coastal micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Indonesia face persistent challenges in financial management and market access, primarily due to low digital literacy and the absence of locally tailored digital platforms, which limit their contribution to the sustainable blue economy agenda. This study aims to design and develop "Jeruju Digital," an integrated digital platform combining a simple financial management system and e-commerce features, specifically tailored for MSEs processing Acanthus ilicifolius (jeruju leaves) in Jaring Halus Village, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra. This research employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach using the Waterfall software development model, progressing through five sequential stages: needs analysis, system design, implementation, black-box functional testing, and user evaluation, with 20 MSE respondents assessed via a 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire. The resulting platform integrates two core modules — a financial reporting tool covering daily transaction logs, profit-and-loss statements, cash flow, and balance sheets, and an e-commerce module for product catalog management, ordering, and payment — achieving 100% success across 15 black-box test functions and an overall user satisfaction score of 4.50 ("Very Good"), indicating high usability and suitability for coastal MSE contexts. These findings demonstrate that "Jeruju Digital" meaningfully improves operational efficiency, financial transparency, and market reach for coastal small businesses, offering a replicable model for digital transformation in Indonesia's maritime sectors in alignment with the national blue economy strategy.