Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Minister Teten Masduki has said that his ministry is supporting the entry of Papua MSMEs into the digital ecosystem.

One form of this support has been the provision of assistance through the Integrated Business Service Center (PLUT) for Cooperatives and MSMEs.

After inaugurating the Papua Cooperatives and MSMEs' PLUT in Mandala village here on Wednesday, Masduki said that PLUTs have an essential role in assisting MSMEs so that their products can be marketed either through the e-catalogue of the government or e-commerce.

"The goal is that Papuan MSME products can enter a wider market through the digital market. Thus, we are encouraging PLUTs to continue to assist MSMEs to enter the digital ecosystem," he said.

The MSMEs that PLUTs assist are advised to pick products that have local flagship value and are unique in Papua, he informed.

The MSME products must be sorted into those that are targeted for the local market, national market, and international market, he said.

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The Papua PLUT could help obtain distribution permits for products made by the MSMEs that it assists and help them access business capital, he added.

"The Papua PLUT can become a pilot (project) for the implementation of smallholder business credit (KUR) so that MSMEs can access business capital through KUR clusters, which can reach a maximum ceiling of Rp500 million," he said.

Meanwhile, assistant for the economy and people's welfare division at the Papua Regional Secretariat, Muhammad Musa’ad, said that his party has also launched a local e-catalogue as a form of commitment to maximizing regional budget (APBD) spending on local products.

"Then, for MSME development, the Papua provincial government has the Papeda program that offers interest-free (business) capital for MSMEs," he pointed out.

He informed that the program is now being carried out selectively by targeting MSMEs that are considered to have the potential to develop.

Related news: President asks Papua MSMEs to use NIBs to bolster business capital





Translator: Qadri Pratiwi, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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