The event is not only to give training or (hold a) workshop for students or young entrepreneurs, but also to give access to business networking to them.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministry is hosting an “Entrepreneur Hub” at Malang Merdeka University (UMM), East Java, as part of an effort to develop students' entrepreneurship ecosystem through workshops and networking.

"The event is not only to give training or (hold a) workshop for students or young entrepreneurs, but also to give access to business networking to them," Deputy of Entrepreneurship at the ministry Siti Azizah said in a statement received here on Monday.

Campuses are an important and strategic starting point for developing national entrepreneurship because they have created many great entrepreneurs, she added.

Students are expected to become agents of change by taking up entrepreneurship, which will become a driving force for economic development through the creation of job opportunities, she said. The initiative is also aimed at anticipating the demographic bonus in 2030.

The “Entrepreneur Hub” program comprises a workshop, field trip, and coaching forum for 150 university students, wherein they will be taken to Malang's small and medium enterprises to learn about business development.

"It is expected that if the students have questions, issues, or (need a) mentor to guide them, these will be easily obtained," Azizah said.

The program has also involved 50 SMEs from Malang as well as the Batu Integrated Services Unit for Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Businesses and its counterpart in Malang district. It is expected that the program will be consistently carried out and even develop naturally in Malang.

"Students will actively discuss with SMEs, which will successfully develop their business. The discussion will be written in a report to see how they can implement it in their plan to develop their business," she elaborated.

She said that entrepreneurs make a strategic contribution to maintaining national economic stability. Hence, the government is committed to improving the entrepreneurship ecosystem, in accordance with President Regulation Number 2 of 2022 on national entrepreneurship development.

"The high rate of entrepreneurs in a country shows that the country's economy is strong. Currently, the ratio of entrepreneurship in Indonesia is 3.47 percent, and the Indonesian government aims that by 2024, at least our entrepreneurship ratio will be capped at 3.95 percent," she added.

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Translator: Kuntum Khaira R, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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