Minister Of Industry Agus Gumiwang: Cooperatives Become One Of The Pillars Of The Economy In The Digital Age

Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Industry)

JAKARTA - Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita emphasized that cooperatives are one of the pillars of the economy in the digital era so it is necessary to immediately carry out digital transformation. "In all sectors, including cooperatives, they must prepare themselves and accelerate in carrying out digital transformation. In my opinion, digital cooperatives are a must," he said in delivering the remarks and directions of the President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Peak of the Commemoration of the 76th National Cooperative Day (Harkopnas) in Padang City, West Sumatra, quoted from Antara, Monday 24 July.

He explained that digitalization in the process of activities in cooperatives, both cooperatives that produce products or services, will be able to generate efficiency and increase competitiveness. "This is in line with the times, cooperatives can become one of the pillars of economic strength in the era of the digital economy," he added. Minister of Industry revealed that he is ready to cooperate with the Indonesian Cooperative Council (Dekopin) under the leadership of Nurdin Halid. Moreover, so far cooperatives have played a role in fostering new industrial entrepreneurs, especially in the small and medium industry (IKM) sector. "We have many programs and activities in IKM development, which can also be relevant to cooperative development efforts. Moreover, the Ministry of Industry has five units of work in the West Sumatra region, the most compared to other provinces," he said. The Minister of Industry invites all parties, including Dekopin, to jointly seek innovative solutions and strengthen collaboration, with a strong determination and enthusiasm in facing global economic challenges that are still not stable at this time. "We see this cooperative not only as an economic pillar, but also a pillar of the nation. Therefore, our challenge in the future is to socialize and educate the public regarding the importance and benefits of cooperative itself, in a directed and sustainable manner," he said. Optimistically, cooperatives play an important role in supporting the national economy. Moreover, the condition of the Indonesian economy is currently at a fairly good and stable level, seen from a number of indicators.

"Our economy is better than other countries in the world, by returning to the upper-middle income country status, after post-COVID-19 pandemic," he said. On that occasion, Agus also reminded the government's priority program, namely Increasing the Use of Domestic Products (P3DN).

He said the P3DN policy could be carried out at all levels, not only in the central and regional governments or BUMN and BUMD, but also in cooperatives. The Minister of Industry hopes that cooperatives will also become successful agents in the implementation of the P3DN program. This is because domestic products must be able to host their own country. "Because we want to look ahead, the creation of many cooperatives which are categorized as large business entities. In some countries of the world, the success of the economy is because it is also determined to be successful in building the cooperative itself," said the Minister of Industry.