Minister Maman Will Efforts To Implement Credit Scoring Scheme For MSMEs

JAKARTA - Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Maman Abdurrahman stated that he would continue to oversee efforts to expand access to financing for MSMEs, especially through credit scoring schemes.

"We continue to coordinate to continue exploring with the Ministry of Finance and the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy regarding the Innovative Credit Scoring (ICS) study. Hopefully it will be a breath of fresh air later," said Maman as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 23.

The proposal for the distribution of People's Business Credit (KUR) through the credit scoring scheme has been discussed since last year and continues to be encouraged by the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs for the 2019-2024 period, Teten Masduki.

The proposal arose because MSMEs often did not meet credit eligibility assessment requirements, such as additional collateral requirements and requirements to have a previous credit history.

Credit scoring is an alternative financing scheme for MSMEs, where credit eligibility assessments no longer use conventional data such as credit history, but use alternative data such as electricity use, telecommunications activities, BPJS, and e-commerce transactions.

However, until the end of his position, the proposal has not been implemented and is expected to be realized next year.

On this occasion, Maman also emphasized that he would make collaboration the basic capital for MSMEs in supporting an aggressive target of national economic growth of 8 percent in the Prabowo Government.

Maman said that the collaboration with Pertamina, for example, was able to foster as many as 63 thousand MSME actors. This can be an example and followed by other big companies.

"This means that more and more companies such as Pertamina are able to become foster parents for MSMEs who are seriously fostering. I am sure that the 8 percent economic growth target in the government can be achieved," he said.

Prior to serving as minister of MSMEs, Maman was a member of Commission VII of the DPR, in charge of energy, research and technology, and the environment. He said he often deals with big companies, ranging from energy companies, mining, and others.

"My goal here is to invite these big companies to contribute to advancing the MSME sector below," he said.

According to him, MSMEs can be assisted by large companies through technological improvements to knowledge, in order to be able to produce products that are vocal, not even inferior to foreign products.

In developing domestic MSMEs, he believes that in terms of product packaging, for example, local MSMEs are quite good.

However, the challenge is not only about packaging, but how their products can be absorbed, to penetrate a wider market and compete with imported products.

"Here it is the government's job to provide supply chains to increase MSME sales," he said.

In responding to these challenges, he revealed that he was preparing a special team in the economic sector of the supply chain.

"Please time, hopefully we can prepare all the rules and techniques regarding the support of this supply chain," said Maman.