Actually, this is a target for five years. However, in two years, we have already surpassed the target.
Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA) - The government of West Sumatra province on Friday claimed it has produces 188,133 entrepreneurs in the past two years through various training programs.

"We continue to strive for the community's welfare improvement, one of which is by creating new entrepreneurs in the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector," West Sumatra Governor Mahyeldi Ansharullah said in Padang.

Creating 100 thousand entrepreneurs is one of the flagship programs of the West Sumatra government, which has been included in the 2021–2026 Medium-Term Regional Development Plan (RPJMD), he added.

"Actually, this is a target for five years. However, in two years, we have already surpassed the target," he said.

Ansharullah expounded that as of 2022, West Sumatra has trained as many as 188,133 entrepreneurs, including 633 digital talents, 14,902 entrepreneurs from the millennial generation, 2,830 women entrepreneurs, and 153 vocational school entrepreneurs.

"We hope these new entrepreneurs will be able to boost the regional economy and improve the community's welfare," he said.

The West Sumatra government has provided capital facilities to 815 business players and business permit facilities to 80 business players, the governor added.

In line with the program of creating 100 thousand entrepreneurs, the number of MSMEs in the province has also increased.

Based on data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), West Sumatra is ranked eighth as the province with the highest number of MSMEs in Indonesia. As of 2022, the number of MSMEs in West Sumatra stood at 296,052.

The increase in the number of MSMEs is inseparable from the efforts that the West Sumatra government has made, including assisting MSME players in obtaining capital.

The improvement of financial access to bank and non-bank institutions for MSMEs and start-up entrepreneurs has been carried out through the facilitation and improvement of understanding regarding access to finance.

"The form of facilitation is bringing together MSMEs and banks, including providing education on access to financial services provided by non-bank institutions, such as CSR (corporate social responsibility), fintech, and funds from Islamic financial institutions," he said.

From the results of the facilitation, in 2022, Rp11.74 billion People's Business Credit (KUR) funds sourced from banks were disbursed to support business and MSME players in West Sumatra.

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Translator: Miko Elfisha, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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