"The program is in accordance with the government's target to create one million capable entrepreneurs until 2024," the minister stated here on Thursday.
Masduki noted that currently, the world is facing several complex issues that could spark crises, such as food scarcity, increase in energy prices, climate issues, and also the Russia-Ukraine war that led to global disruption due to export restrictions.
Minister Masduki said that in order to address those challenges, the business ecosystem should be improved, so that MSMES could formulate innovations, transform, and adapt.
"One of which is by reinforcing the entrepreneurship ecosystem," the minister elaborated.
He also noted that as per President Jokowi's directives, the ratio of MSMEs credit would be bumped up, from 20 percent to 30 percent by 2024, or some Rp1.800 trillion.
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This increase serves as an opportunity that BSI must seize and follow up with several innovations and developments with regard to the set targets, he pointed out.
"Thank God, I heard that BSI, during last year, (approaches) Islamic boarding schools to establish synergy, and this year, BSI has prioritized the students as a part of the BSI Entrepreneurship Talent program," he stated.
Moreover, the government is committed to assisting these schools, so they would be economically independent, with establishing cooperatives of these schools being one of the efforts to achieve such goal, he added.
Masduki opined that Islamic Boarding schools could become a center for community's economic empowerment through financial development schemes, such as micro wakaf bank, sharia cooperative, and others.
"I believe that program, such as BSI Entrepreneurship Talent, is able to promote the creation of MSMEs and create job vacancies, particularly in the sharia economy ecosystem," the minister concluded.
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Translator: M Baqir Idrus A, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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