Rhifa Ayudhia

Rhifa is an Assistant Manager in MSC’s Country Program Development program in Indonesia. She has more than three years of experience in management consulting and policy analysis. Her areas of interest include digital financial inclusion, MSMEs development, and informal economy. She has experience in conducting field research and qualitative interviews, providing short training, and providing technical support in various client assignments. Over the years, she has worked with different stakeholders, such as government institutions, international organizations, microfinance institutions, and non-governmental organizations. Before joining MSC, Rhifa was a Junior Policy Analyst at the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas). She holds a Master’s Degree in International Social and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science in London. She is fluent in Bahasa and English.

Posts by Rhifa Ayudhia

Transitioning the informal economy to a formal one

Developing countries often prioritize the formalization of enterprises in their MSME development policies. The benefits of formalization include increased access to credit, higher productivity, and better social protection, while governments gain from a higher tax base. However, informality continues to persist despite these apparent benefits. This blog stresses on the need to modulate our approach to formalization of the informal economy and explores three principles on how the digital economy can enable this process.

Designing adaptive worker protections for the digital economy

The rapid digitization of work in the informal economy offers an opportunity to increase women’s participation in the labor force. However, women continue to grapple with a disproportionate burden of unpaid work at home. Thus, any tangible increase in women’s participation in the labor market will call for adequate social protections that reduce this burden. This blog discusses the importance of reimagining the social protection architecture for the digital economy.

Women in the digital economy

The COVID-19 pandemic carved out a prominent role for digital technologies in enabling economic transactions. However, the gender divide in access to digital technologies hurts women’s ability to participate in the labor force. This blog explores the nature of women’s work and how digitization shapes it. We outline the opportunities and challenges in the digital economy and offer recommendations to ensure a fair digital economy for women.