Targeting Addition Of 1 Million New Entrepreneurs, Menkop Teten Asks Local Government To Contribute 600,000 Entrepreneurs

Coordinating Minister for SMEs Teten Masduki during a press conference at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs Building. (Photo: VOI/Mary Handayani)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki targets an additional 1 million new entrepreneurs within the next two years or in 2024. He admitted that this number is a measurable target that must be achieved by the government.

Furthermore, Teten said Presidential Regulation No. 2 of 2022 will be one of the foundations to achieve this target.

"We want to add 1 million entrepreneurs, later the regional (government) will be 600 thousand and under the ministry's assistance 400 thousand entrepreneurs," he said at a press conference at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs Building, Jakarta, Thursday, May 12.

Teten explained that this step was taken as an effort by the government to push Indonesia's target as a developed country. Moreover, there is already a projection that Indonesia will become the country with the fourth largest income in 2045.

"The prerequisite is that we have to increase the number of entrepreneurs, not too many activists, but a minimum of 4 percent of entrepreneurs," he said.

To achieve this target, said Teten, there are several ways to do it. Among them by strengthening the ecosystem for the development of entrepreneurship.

"As I have often said, we are changing our approach, starting with continuous mentoring, through incubation instead of hit and run training," he said.

"Which is only once at a time, but this must be incubated until it hatches, the approach must be incubation," he continued.

On the same occasion, the Expert Staff of the Minister of Finance and MSME Development of the Ministry of SOEs, Loto Srinaita Ginting, expressed his support. He said, the Ministry under the leadership of Erick Thohir is ready to support the creation of additional established entrepreneurs.

"We really support this program and the Ministry of SOEs together with SOEs have prepared themselves to support and create additional established entrepreneurs," he said.

Loto said that one of the efforts made by his party was to present BUMN houses in 24 provinces. According to Loto, the house serves as a place for development for SMEs.

"We are trying to map out that there are 5 support from the Ministry of SOEs, the first is MSME training to encourage MSMEs to advance to class, currently there are SOE Houses in 34 provinces to train and encourage MSMEs to go up to class," he explained.