Kadin Asks Jokowi To Make Local Entrepreneurs A Main Player At IKN

JAKARTA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has asked for the role of local entrepreneurs as "main players" in the development of the capital city of the archipelago (IKN). He conveyed this to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"Many of my friends in the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association have been involved, from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also become one of the sub-contractors," said Head of the East Kalimantan Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Donna Faroek, quoting Antara.

Donna said, of the total around 4,500 Kadin entrepreneurs, about 10 percent of them have been involved in the role of sub-contractors of heavy equipment in the construction of IKN.

The local entrepreneurs, said Donna, are engaged in construction services, coal, to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

In his meeting with President Jokowi for about 1 hour at the Garuda Palace, Donna expressed hope that local entrepreneurs could get a portion as a'main player' in development at IKN.

"We hope to become the main players. Maybe we can be given a wider opportunity in terms of our participation in development at IKN," he said.

Donna said that currently there are many opportunities that the government and local entrepreneurs in Samarinda, Balikpapan, and Penajam Paser Utara can work on, such as restaurant businesses, cafes, and so on.

However, Donna still felt this desire, hampered by a government bureaucracy that took a long time.

"Yesterday we took care of permits in Balikpapan for months. I hope licensing here will be facilitated," he said.