The Indonesian government is moving quickly to establish a recovery scheme for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) affected by recent devastating floods and landslides across Sumatra.
The initiative aims to mitigate widespread business losses and revitalize local economies, MSME Minister Maman Abdurrahman said on Friday.
He said that the government is preparing targeted measures for businesses in West Sumatra, North Sumatra, and Aceh—three provinces that have borne the brunt of weeks of continuous natural disasters.
The Minister detailed an urgent, coordinated approach, announcing a meeting with 44 financial distributors scheduled for Monday (December 8) to map the impact on MSMEs and design suitable financial incentives.
He emphasized that assistance must be calibrated to the severity of damage, distinguishing between areas suffering permanent loss and those facing temporary operational disruptions.
“Protection for affected MSMEs is a priority. That is President Prabowo’s directive,” Minister Maman said on the sidelines of the Festival of Micro Business Facilitation and Protection in Mandailing Natal, North Sumatra.
The ministry will align its assessment data with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to ensure a systematic and comprehensive response.
Financial institutions, which are directly impacted by the crisis, are preparing for the new guidelines.
Director of Finance and Information Technology at Bank Sumut, the regional development bank for North Sumatra, Arieta Aryanti, reported that 339 MSME borrowers were already classified as impacted as of late November.
Bank Sumut has begun field assessments and is preparing adaptive credit-handling options, including credit restructuring, credit-quality reassessment, and potential new financing.
These measures are being developed in compliance with Financial Services Authority (OJK) Regulation No. 19/2022, which allows special treatment for financial institutions operating in disaster-hit regions.
Arieta said the upcoming policy decision from the government will be a key turning point for coordinating relief action.
"We are ready to work with the central government, local governments and other distributors to ensure MSME recovery proceeds quickly so communities can regain hope and restart their businesses,” she stated.
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Translator: Muhammad Said, Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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