MSMEs are not merely (performing business) activities that involve many players, particularly women, but are also the engine and backbone of our economy today and in futureJakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian women are playing a crucial and big role in the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.
Speaking at a national working meeting on the empowerment of women in MSMEs in Jakarta on the weekend, she said that the majority of MSME players are women, based on data from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Businesses.
"Based on the data, women are really very important and even main players at small and micro levels," she said in a written statement released on Monday.
Women account for nearly 52 percent of the 63.9 million micro business players and about 56 percent of the 193 thousand small business players, she noted. Women also make up 34 percent of the 44 thousand medium business players, she added.
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MSMEs play a big role in the Indonesian economy, accounting for 60 percent of the national economy and 97 percent of jobs, she noted.
"MSMEs are not merely (performing business) activities that involve many players, particularly women, but are also the engine and backbone of our economy today and in future," she said.
Addressing the G20 Summit in Rome in October 2021, President Joko Widodo had told world leaders that Indonesia is running an MSME empowerment program, which is being realized through various activities, including micro ultra financing (UMI), smallholder business credit (KUR), and digitalization of MSME activities.
The other government support for MSMEs has been in the form of investment for digital infrastructure development for all parts of Indonesia to push for the development of entrepreneurship on digital platforms, he informed. In fact, the government has also eased licensing procedures through the online single submission (OSS) system, he said.
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"If MSMEs wish to set up more formal companies in order to obtain access to large capital, including from banks, they can obtain permits more easily. I hope female entrepreneurs benefit from it at a micro level," Indrawati said.
The government always tries to ensure that the state budget benefits business players using state financial instruments that are directly managed through the state budget and state wealth is separated to give concrete support to small businesses, particularly those run by women, she added.
"The government uses various policies to help all segments needing it. These all are for the community, particularly ultra microbusinesses, so that they will be able to secure capital access," the minister said.
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Translator: Agatha Olivia V, Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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