Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is targeting to get 2.5 million micro-enterprise players to obtain business identification numbers (NIBs) every year, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Minister Teten Masduki has said.

As of September 23, 2022, NIBs have been issued to 2,056,010 enterprises, and 93.45 percent of them, or 1,921,287, are micro-enterprises.

"We want all micro-enterprises to level up so that the number of micro-enterprise owners declines. We want to reduce the 'obesity' of micro-enterprises by up to 99 percent," the minister said at an NIB distribution event for 600 customers of state-run microlender PT Permodalan Nasional Madani's (PNM's) PNM Mekaar service in Manado, North Sulawesi, according to an official statement issued here on Saturday.

NIBs are crucial for micro-enterprise players so that their businesses are no longer categorized as informal businesses and they can level up to become formal businesses, Masduki emphasized.

"NIBs make it easy for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to get marketing permits, halal certificates, and SNI (Indonesian National Standards). Later, they can get bigger financing, too. If their businesses develop, they get bigger credit because there is KUR (People's Business Credit) of up to Rp500 million per person," the minister said.

Meanwhile, director of operations at PNM, Sunar Basuki, said that in North Sulawesi, NIBs have been issued to 600 PNM Mekaar customers. The number of PNM customers in North Sulawesi has reached 101 thousand so far, with 30 service offices and 400 field assistants.

North Sulawesi Governor Olly Dondokambey lauded PNM for providing NIBs to 600 customers of its PNM Mekaar service.

"I am grateful for the role of PNM in assisting the members' readiness to carry out MSME economic activities in this region. Hopefully, this will continue so that the benefits can be enjoyed by the people of North Sulawesi," he remarked.

Related news: President asks Papua MSMEs to use NIBs to bolster business capital
Related news: Minister distributes NIBs to 550 SME players in North Sumatra






Translator: M Baqir, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2022