The diaspora received the assistance through the BNI Xpora Program that helps various local Small, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) products to be better known abroad.
"The (BNI) program does not only provide banking facilities but also the financial education program for the diaspora to conduct import-export activities. All these banking facilities are massively provided by Bank BNI because BNI also has branches in many countries," the Indonesian ambassador noted in a statement, Wednesday.
Roeslani also lauded Indonesian state-owned BNI's efforts to provide high flexibility when the Indonesian diaspora in the US faced several obstacles, thereby supporting the continuity of small- and large-scale businesses to run well.
“The diaspora needs financing that is fast, appropriate, and understands businesses of our entrepreneurs, as well as regulations and competitions in the United States. Thus, the BNI is very proactive in picking up the ball existing in the diaspora," he added.
Roeslani noted that digitalization was an effective strategy to encourage the promotion of Indonesian MSME businesses in the US, as only nine million out of the nearly 60 million MSMEs in Indonesia had embraced digitalization.
"We hope that with this digitalization, (BNI Xpora), including with the banking sector and many parties, can help MSMEs to become more active on the export side. We also provide market intelligence or input regarding the state of the market in the US and what trends and expectations are, so that it can be adapted to make our MSME products more accepted and capable of entering the American market," he affirmed.
General Manager of BNI New York, Aidil Azhar, emphasized that in addition to encouraging MSME businesses to go international, BNI is also committed to providing myriad financial solutions to Indonesian diaspora customers in the US.
One of these solutions is in the form of loans, either for working capital or investment to purchase equipment, vehicles, and business premises, among other things.
"In addition to Indonesian diaspora business actors, who usually conduct import or export trade transactions, BNI New York provides trade finance services, for instance, in opening the Letter of Credit (LC), advising LC, LC discounting, and Foreign Exchange," Azhar stated.
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Translator: Sanya DS, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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