Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday that the tourism and creative economy sector is closely linked with micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
He noted that as many as 70 percent of tourism and creative economy players in Indonesia are MSMEs, but they are facing a big obstacle, namely financing.
"Thus, we want MSMEs that support 70 percent of our tourism and creative economy, 97 percent of jobs in Indonesia, and 62 percent of our GDP (gross domestic product) to be facilitated in terms of financing through modern financing network, namely fintech," he added.
According to Uno, Indonesia's Internet penetration level, which has reached 79.5 percent, can be optimized to accelerate the digital transformation of tourism and creative economy businesses.
He said that one of the ways for MSMEs to utilize the digital transformation is by obtaining alternative financing through financial technology platforms.
"For players of tourism and creative economy businesses who want access to alternative financing through financial technology, (they) can register through the FIFTY website to get guidance and training to improve business capacity so that their business can continue to grow and develop," he informed.
Director of financing access at the ministry, Anggara Hayun Anujuprana, said that the difficulty faced by tourism and creative economy business players in accessing financing is the main reason behind the initiative.
"Hopefully, it will be easier for tourism and creative economy players to get financial technology financing, be it P2P lending or securities/equity crowdfunding that have been licensed by the OJK (Financial Services Authority), through training and business matching guidance," Anujuprana added.
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Translator: Shabrina Zakaria, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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