Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is supporting the improvement of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by seeking to integrate four pillars to build an ecosystem that helps develop their competitiveness, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan has said.

The four pillars include MSMEs, modern retail, marketplaces, and banking, all of which must be integrated into one ecosystem, Minister Hasan explained during a meeting with MSME players in Binjai city, North Sumatra, on Tuesday.

"The Trade Ministry continues to support the development of MSMEs through a four-pillar program to improve MSME competitiveness. If the ecosystem is built, the economy will also increase gradually. We expect that MSMEs in Binjai city will also collaborate with modern retail, marketplaces, and banking to continue to develop MSMEs in Binjai city,” he said in an official statement received here.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir and inspector general of the Trade Ministry, Didid Noordiatmoko, were also present at the meeting with 20 MSME players from Binjai city.

The MSME actors were engaged in the textile and food and beverage sectors, among others. They brought their products to show them to the ministers.

The minister said he expected MSMEs in Binjai city to collaborate to supply their products to modern retailers in North Sumatra. Moreover, Binjai MSME players are expected to work with marketplaces with the help of various trainings held to develop their capacity to penetrate the digital market.

Hasan said the government supports SME (small and medium enterprise) financing, such as through cooperation with banks under the people's business credit scheme.

Founder of the TAN Collection and the Binjai Rambutan Group, Tan Darwania Makatita, expressed her gratitude and asked for the government’s support for the development of the city's MSMEs.

"We ask for support for the productivity of MSMEs in the TAN Collection studio in particular, and all MSMEs in Binjai city as a whole, so that MSMEs in Binjai city are developing," she said.

TAN Collection and the Binjai Rambutan Group are among the SMEs engaged in ethnic fashion. Their products include fabrics, songkets, batiks, embroidery, knitting, handicrafts, and bridal gifts.

Products made by TAN Collection have been marketed around Binjai and North Sumatra. The company was formed in 2015 by Tan Darwania Makatita and currently has a total of 100 members.


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Translator: Maria Cicilia G P, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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