SMEs contributed 97 percent to absorption of employment. Therefore, the improvement of quality of human resources has an important role in reducing poverty and unemploymentJakarta (ANTARA) - Improvement in the quality of human resources will support economic growth, Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Rully Indrawan has said.
"SMEs contributed 97 percent to absorption of employment. Therefore, the improvement of quality of human resources has an important role in reducing poverty and unemployment," Indrawan said in a statement received in Jakarta Wednesday.
SMEs still face significant challenges such as limited human resources with the specific skill sets, he revealed.
Indonesia currently has a population with a productive age which is 68 percent of the total population of 267 million, he reminded.
"This momentum is expected to boost the economy of Indonesia as the population of productive age contributes to economic growth. However, the situation has a negative impact if education, health, and employment opportunities cannot be managed well," Indrawan said.
If the revenue of the SMEs can be increased by 30 percent, economic growth can touch seven percent, the National Committee for the Economy and Industry (KEIN), earlier said.
"We should involve SMEs. Indonesia's economic growth can exceed seven percent if we increase the revenue of SMEs by 30 percent," Deputy Chairman of KEIN Arief Budiman stated in Jakarta Monday.
Micro and small entrepreneurs currently reached around 63 million, divided into 62 million micro-entrepreneurs and 750 thousand small entrepreneurs. If the entrepreneurs can be upgraded, Indonesia's economic growth will be able to reach above five percent, Arif noted.
"SMEs contribute 60 percent to Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP), but its banking access only reaches 20 percent. They can reach a higher level if they can get more banking access," he said.
Access to capital and the market is needed to boost the revenue of SMEs. This is another way, SMEs can be involved in investment and export activities.
In addition, large companies should not be allowed to enter the market where SMEs have a considerable presence.
"SMEs have a very large market. There are two main problems in the form of market and capital access," Arif Budimanta said.
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Translator: M Razi / Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
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