Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is helping women running micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) get access to financing through the Super Micro People's Business Credit (KUR) for Stay-at-Home Mothers scheme, which offers a lower interest rate. For 2024, the government has set the budget ceiling for the KUR program at Rp280 trillion (around Rp16,146 = USD1).

"MSMEs are currently dominated by women with a percentage of 64.5 percent of the total MSME players, or around 37 million people," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said at the Indonesian Women's Congress (KOWANI) Expo here on Tuesday.

Given the significant role of women MSME players, the government is continuing to provide attention to their development through the provision of several facilities.

Hartarto underlined that MSMEs absorb almost 90 percent of Indonesia's workforce. Therefore, the government will continue to support the sector with various facilities.

Furthermore, he called for the improvement of human resource quality, both through education and training in the creative field, to support entrepreneurial activities.

He expressed the hope that KOWANI would play an important role in encouraging entrepreneurship among Indonesian women and accelerate the creation of jobs.

The government is also supporting the effort through the Pre-Employment Card program, which provides skilling, reskilling, and upskilling opportunities through training. The program has so far reached around 18 million participants in 514 districts and cities.

At the expo on Tuesday, the minister also underlined that Indonesia is currently seeking to join developed countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

He said he hoped that women will also play a role in supporting Indonesia's OECD accession bid. This is deemed essential considering that women earlier participated in discussing various key issues through the Women 20 (W20) forum during Indonesia's G20 presidency in 2022.

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Translator: Bayu Saputra, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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