Kemenkop UKM Prepares Three Startups, Supports Business Incubators For Disabilities

Coordinating Minister for SMEs Teten Masduki (Photo: Kemenkop UKM)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) is preparing three startups to support people with disabilities so that they can have access to develop themselves and their talents. The three startups, namely Silang, Hear me, and Deep Marketer.

"We now have three digital application platforms that will really help people with disabilities, this is what we are incubating, we are also looking for investor financing support," said Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki in a written statement, quoted Monday, December 4.

Teten assessed that the use of technology, including through the assistance of digital applications, is very important for people with disabilities to help their daily lives.

Kemenkop UKM ensures that it continues to make initiatives to support the acceleration of the digital transformation of MSMEs holistically to support people with disabilities.

He assessed that believing that the shortage of persons with disabilities would be able to be made easier through technology.

"The hope is that in addition to support for people with disabilities, we also think about how the ecosystem is from entrepreneurship or the spirit of entrepreneurial spirit in the environment of people with disabilities," said Teten.

Based on data from the 2020 National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas), the number of people with Indonesia's disabilities reached 28.05 million people, and 22 percent of them were in the productive age group.

Although access and affordability for education for people with disabilities continues to increase, until 2020 as many as 72 percent of people with disabilities work in the informal sector based on the 2020 Social Welfare Index.

Kemenkop UKM also collaborates with the Indonesian Women's Tangguh Foundation (PTI) which is fully committed to supporting inclusion and empowering friends with disabilities.

The PTI Foundation itself develops an empowerment approach to people with disabilities by building ecosystems and preparing incubators for them to grow and develop.

The non-profit organization also collaborates with various large companies that can become internship destinations and learn from people with disabilities.

"We and PTI are trying to collaborate to create a business ecosystem for people with disabilities. I think this collaboration is quite good because PTI has succeeded in collaborating with business people to become study places and internships for disabilities, including absorbing jobs," he said.