The target of upgrading MSMEs will be the foundation to strengthen community economy by facilitating access to financing and bringing MSMEs to a stronger market while entering the global market
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Integrated business service centers (PLUT) can encourage micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to step into the onboarding stage of digitalization, Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki has said.



"Hopefully, this event can make strong MSMEs go digital and global and can spur PLUT to be better in providing services and assistance to MSMEs in their respective regions," Masduki stated during the virtual 2021 SME Festival, organized by the ministry here on Wednesday.



Presenting PLUT from seven regions in Indonesia at the event, he referred to Bank Indonesia reporting a growth in digital economic and financial transactions with an increase in the frequency of online shopping.



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According to Masduki, in the first and second quarters of 2021, the value of e-commerce transactions grew 63.36 percent on an annual basis (yoy) to Rp186.75 trillion and it is projected to rise further by 48.4 percent (yoy) to reach Rp395 trillion for the whole of 2021.



President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has mandated that the approach of national economic development in the future be based on MSMEs, he informed.



"Therefore, the target of upgrading MSMEs will be the foundation to strengthen the community economy by facilitating access to financing and bringing MSMEs to a stronger market while entering the global market," the minister said.


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Meanwhile, the ministry's deputy for SMEs, Hanung Harimba, said that PLUT is a program offered by the ministry to provide help and mentoring to cooperatives and MSMEs as a whole and integrated service.



The program is an effort to improve production performance, marketing performance, access to financing, and human resource development, Harimba highlighted.



"I hope that PLUT can become a center for business development consulting and mentoring as well as a trade center for MSME products in order to push up micro, small, and medium-sized businesses to upgrade," he expounded.


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The seven PLUT presented in the festival came from Yogyakarta, North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Subang district of West Java, Surakarta city of Central Java, Batu City of East Java, and Lima Puluh district of West Sumatra.



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Translator: M Alatas, Kenzu T
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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