Gov’t to Provide Productive Assistance Program to 12 Million MSMEs

Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki. (Source: Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises).

The Government has announced plan to provide Rp 2.4 million for 12 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country, Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki has said.

The Minister made the statement after attending Limited Cabinet Meeting, at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, Wednesday (12/8).

“We have allocated Rp 22 trillion for 9.1 million MSMEs in the initial stages,” Teten said.

According to him, the assistance aims to help millions of MSMEs hit by the COVID-19 pandemic since it affected their financing, production, distribution, and demand from the market.

“The Government, in the national economic recovery (PEN) program, has addressed financing issues for bankable MSMEs through loan restructuring program, interest subsidy, and tax subsidy,” he said.

Teten went on to say that Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises together with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Cabinet Secretariat, the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), and the National Economic Recovery and Transformation Working Committee has designed a budget allocation policy, including data collection mechanisms, distribution, and supervision as directed by the President.

“To date, the data of 17 million micro business players from cooperatives, heads of regional offices, the OJK, micro waqf banks and microfinance institution (LKM), the State-Owned Banks Association (Himbara), ministries/institutions, state-owned financing firm PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), state-owned pawn shop PT Pegadaian, and Public Service Agencies (BLU) have been collected ,” he said.

Therefore, he added, data verification and validation will be carried out by Ministry Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises together with Ministry of Finance and the OJK.

“We urge micro business players who have not received working capital and investment financing from banks to join the program through the nearest cooperative office,” he added.

On that occasion, Teten said that all relevant parties should participate in supervising the program so the productive assistance program for MSMEs can be properly distributed and hard-hit MSMEs can immediately reoperate their businesses.

Technically, the Minister continued, MSMEs recipients who are not/have never received or are currently receiving loans from banks, will receive Rp 2.4 million each in form of cash transfer.

“The assistance will be transferred to the recipients’ accounts. We have prepared for this. We can disburse the assistance by mid-August,” Teten said. (FID / EN)

Translated by: Syarifah Aisyah
Reviewed by: Mia Medyana