Teten Proposes Smesco Indonesia To Become An MSME Service Platform In ASEAN Countries

Menkop UKM Teten Masduki (center) and Deputy Minister of Trade (Wamendag) Jerry Sambuaga (left). Photo: Theresia Agatha/VOI

BALI - Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki proposed SMESCO Indonesia to become a MSME service platform from upstream to downstream for all MSMEs in ASEAN countries.

"Concretely, Indonesia has proposed LLP-KUKM or Smesco Indonesia as the ASEAN IB Center which will function as an MSME service platform from upstream to downstream for all MSMEs in the ASEAN country," said Minister Teten at a press conference. Sixth ASEAN Inclusive Business Summit 2023 in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Wednesday, August 23.

Menteri Teten mengatakan, Indonesia dalam konsultasi dengan ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, dan dukungan dari United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific dan Organisasi for Economic Co-operation and Development, serta dukungan dari World Benchmarking Alliance, telah mengembangkan " Rencana Aksi untuk Promotion Bisnis Inclusif di ASEAN (2023-2027)".

The Action Plan is a document that describes the priority area when Indonesia advances with the agenda of the Inclusive Business in ASEAN.

"We exchanged experiences on how to promote Inclusive Business in their respective countries, and adopted a Joint Statement of the Minister on 'Declaration on Promotion of Inclusive Business Models: Empowering MSMEs for Fair Growth'," said Teten.

According to Teten, Southeast Asia has always been the center of world trade with large markets, thus becoming a promising market cap for the global business world.

"With economic growth that exceeds the global average, ASEAN must play an active role in validating cross-border trade," he said.

On the same occasion, Teten emphasized that Smesco has become the startup ecosystem for Indonesian entrepreneurial hubs, so he offers it as an inclusive business hub in ASEAN.

"So, not only do we take advantage of large markets, but we also have extraordinary economic resources and we want ASEAN to become a world production center," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Trade (Wamendag) Jerry Sambuaga, who was also present on the occasion, said that the proposals and plans launched in the ASEAN Inclusive Business Summit 2023 were in line with the results of the meeting that Indonesia was fighting for at the meeting at the high level of ASEAN economic ministers or the 55th Asean Economy Ministers (AEM) which had just finished in Semarang, on August 18-22, 2023.

There are two decisions that have been agreed in the 55th AEM to support the MSME business inclusiveness in ASEAN, including the establishment of the Australian ASEAN New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) protocol which provides opportunities and access to the development of MSMEs, and the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) which will provide many MSME promotions and business inclusiveness.

"As the holder of ASEAN chairmanship, Indonesia supports and ensures the development of MSMEs in line with what we do in order to promote global trade," he added.