Indonesia-Japan Update MSME Partnership Expansion Agreement In Global Supply Chain

Menkop UKM Teten Masduki (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government through the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Organization for Small and Medium Enterprise and Regional Innovation (SMRJ) Japan, on Monday, July 31.

The signing of this cooperation is carried out to expand the partnership between MSMEs and the economy between the two countries.

Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki said that the cooperation between Indonesia and Japan in terms of the development of MSMEs has been going on for a long time and there needs to be a renewal of the scope of cooperation between the two countries, so that future programs will focus more on supporting the development of several sectors, including MSMEs.

"I hope that through the MoU and this meeting there will be more business partnerships that can be carried out between Indonesian MSMEs and business actors in Japan, especially in the promotion of MSME products in the global market, supply chain partnerships, and start-up development," said Minister Teten in a press release, quoted Tuesday, August 1.

Teten said that cooperation between Indonesia and Japan in terms of the development of MSMEs has been going on for a long time.

Therefore, during his working visit to Japan, the scope of cooperation between the two countries was renewed, so that future programs would focus more on supporting the development of several sectors including MSMEs.

"Today, we have come with 30 Indonesian MSME players who have been drained, selected, and have run their businesses in various sectors, such as automotive, health, food, fisheries and so on. They are present online and offline," he said.

Furthermore, during his working visit to Japan, Minister Teten also held a meeting with the Japan Finance Corporation (JFC) TEmachi in Chiyoda City, Japan.

On that occasion, Teten thanked the meeting and he believed that both in Indonesia and Japan, MSMEs were the backbone of the national economy for the two countries, including in providing jobs, encouraging innovation, technology, and inclusive growth.

"Pascapandemi COVID-19, kami terus mendorong UMKM untuk bertransformasi, agar ke depan UMKM lebih memiliki daya tahan, lebih adaptif, lebih produktif, dan lebih berkelanjutan," tuturnya.

Some of the points discussed at the meeting included sharing sessions to identify innovative and pragmatic steps to support the ease of financing and development of MSMEs.

Second, exploring opportunities for cooperation, exchanging knowledge, technology transfer, and initiatives to increase MSME capacity. Third, Indonesia's start-up funding opportunities.

"Finally or fourth, B2B (Business to Business) investment opportunities from Japanese companies are connected to Indonesian MSMEs," concluded Teten.