"In addition, registration of the Business Identification Number (NIB) for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has achieved 100 percent, or 7,500 MSMEs," Expert Staff of Productivity and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Yulis, stated during the third anniversary of MicroMentor Indonesia (MMI) in Jakarta through an official statement received on Saturday.
The MMI program is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs with Mastercard, Commonwealth Bank, and Mercy Corps in order to encourage MSMEs in advancing their capabilities.
The collaboration aimed to improve digital transformation literacy and build a business assistance ecosystem in addition to protecting MSMEs with cybersecurity.
"The collaboration has succeeded in creating two excellent programs -- the digital acceleration of MSMEs companion (SIGAP UMKM) and the Micro Business Transformation Guard (Garda Transfumi) -- which has reached more than 60 thousand MSMEs and 20 thousand volunteer mentors in 2019 since MMI was launched in 2019," Yulis added.
Of the 64.19 million MSMEs in Indonesia, some 64.14 million are MSEs, with most of them focusing in the informal sector. Until 2019, only four percent of the MSEs had been certified. Hence, the ministry aims to improve the transformation of MSMEs from informal to formal through fostering and assisting micro-enterprises in business licensing and legal assistance.
"I hope that the companion volunteers, who have collaborated with MicroMentor, will continue to grow in future and become part of the solution to accelerate the transformation of microenterprises and the digital transformation of MSMEs," he noted.
Meanwhile, President Director of Commonwealth Bank Lauren Sulistiawati is optimistic that the collaboration would be able to reach 100 thousand MSMEs by January 2023.
"To achieve this target, financial literacy is not enough. It also needs assistance by an expert mentor," Sulistiawati emphasized.
On the same occasion, Executive Director of Mercy Corps Indonesia Ade Soekadis believes the MMI program will have a positive impact on MSMEs and the Indonesian economy.
Entering its fourth year, MMI will increase the features and services available. Through a virtual training system, Mastercard has provided access to global expertise with a series of expert speakers and cybersecurity toolkits for Indonesian MSMEs from the Global Cyber Alliance that can be accessed through the MMI platform.
Commonwealth Bank also provides support in providing materials and mentors related to virtual training systems and webinars, with topics revolving around business management, human resources (HR), and financial management.
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Translator: M Baqir Idrus A, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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