"The government is seeking to achieve economic equity and an equitable business chain," Leontinus Alpha Edison, the Deputy for Community's Economic Empowerment and Migrant Workers' Protection at the ministry, said in a statement on Thursday.
According to him, his ministry is responsible for carrying out community empowerment and realizing welfare equity. This includes community economic empowerment through job creation and the expansion of business access.
He underlined that MSMEs are the main target of empowerment efforts, including ensuring that they can conduct business in a fair market.
"In the context of trade, a healthy market is one that grows through healthy competition, accompanied by measurable protection from the government for all businesses," he said.
MSMEs, particularly micro enterprises like small, family-run general stores, are facing many limitations, making it hard for them to grow amid competition with large-scale retailers backed by large capital.
This condition, Edison said, is what Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar wants to avoid as he seeks a conducive national business climate, especially one that supports the growth of MSMEs.
"All business players in Indonesia, without exception, must have the same opportunities to start, maintain business consistency, and expand their business scale by paying attention to the aspect of fairness," he remarked.
He further said that the planned policy will also organize the operational permit regulations for large retailers in regions, which have long been a concern for regional governments.
MSMEs play a key role in Indonesia's economy, contributing up to 60.51 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and absorbing about 97 percent of the total workforce in the country, according to the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.
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Translator: Anita Permata, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
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