Responds To The APEC SME Implementation In Thailand, The Ministry Of Cooperatives For Commitment To Financing Access For MSMEs

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (Kemenkop UKM) is committed to providing access to financing for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as accelerating the transformation of MSMEs.

"Collaboration between stakeholders, starting from ministries, institutions, associations, the private sector, and large businesses continues to be encouraged to support the economic recovery of MSMEs after the pandemic (COVID-19)," said the Expert Staff of the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs for Inter-Institutional Relations Luhur Pradjarto in an official statement quoted by Antara, Wednesday, September 14.

This was conveyed by Luhur in response to the holding of the 54th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Small and Medium Enterprises (APEC SME) Working Group Meeting some time ago in Phuket, Thailand.

Luhur assessed that it is very important to coordinate and synergize between regions, starting from the central government and local governments to encourage MSMEs to rise, grow, and adapt to the times and demands of the market.

Furthermore, Indonesia also highlighted the urgency of financial ecosystem support for MSMEs. "We see the important role of stakeholders in encouraging financing ecosystems for MSMEs in the APEC economy to increase access to financing for MSMEs," he said.

Indonesia, he said, must continue to encourage MSMEs to take advantage of the presence of digital technology in order to increase access to financial financing and literacy.

"We believe digitalization will increase the capacity of MSMEs and expand their access to financing institutions, including the digital financing system," he said.

As host of APEC 2022, Thailand carries the theme "Open, Connect, and Balanced" in its chairmanship by focusing on the Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BGC Economy) concept.

In line with that theme, the focus topic of discussion on ministerial-level meetings is on "Inclusive Recovery of APEC MSMEs Through Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG) and High Impact Ecosystem".

There were four main topics discussed at the meeting, namely accelerating BCG adoption, inclusive digital transformation, form of MSME financing and debt restructuring, as well as adjusting the growing market landscape.

At the 28th APEC MS meeting, the Ministerial Statement has not been able to reach consensus. As a result, the Chair Statement issued which includes the commitment of the Ministers of SMEs in the APEC region to matters mutually agreed to develop and ensure MSMEs have the support to integrate with the global market.

On this occasion, the government through the Kemenkop UKM raised issues related to accelerating digital transformation and increasing access to financing for MSME actors.

Luhur expressed his views through a paper entitled "Promoting MSME Access to Finance Through Financial Technologies".

The theme "Indonesia's Support to Accelerate MSMEs' Transformation" was delivered virtually by the Deputy for Micro Business at the Kemenkop UKM Eddy Satriya.