This Is The Effort Of The Ministry Of Cooperatives And SMEs To Increase MSME Digital Financial Literacy

UMKM illustration (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) seeks to increase digital financial literacy by holding side event 57th APEC SMEWG, Policy Dialogue on Advancing Financial Inclusion for MSMEs: Understanding the Import Role of Digital Financial Literacy, to increase financial inclusion for MSME actors.

Expert Staff to the Minister for Productivity and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs Herbert HO Siagian said that currently the resilience of the MSME business is an important issue considering the portion of MSMEs is 97 percent of all businesses and employs more than half of the workforce in the entire APEC economy.

With this large number of MSMEs, if supported by the digitalization ecosystem, the contribution will encourage an increase in potential for GDP.

"The purpose of this dialogue policy forum is to provide a forum for APEC's Economy to share policy experience and learning about how MSMEs can increase their capacity in utilizing digital devices to access financial services," Herbert said in his official statement, Wednesday, April 24.

Herbert hopes that this forum can overcome the problem of accessing MSMEs to finance by allowing MSMEs to carry out digital transformation for better financial inclusion. Given, MSMEs are considered to be the motor of accelerating economic growth.

On the other hand, access to finance is an important aspect in the development, growth and success of MSMEs. But unfortunately, said Herbert, most MSMEs still have problems accessing finances, such as lack of information and access to financial services, lack of digitalization capabilities and lack of human resources that have financial capabilities.

Therefore, MSMEs need to be given policy support and the will of MSMEs to transform digitally. According to him, providing digital finance is very important in increasing digital literacy of business actors.

"Digitalization is the key in order to improve the ability of MSMEs to develop and expand their access to financial institutions, including digital financing systems," he said.

On the same occasion, Director of Trade and Economic Analysis Office of the Chief Economist of Global Affairs Canada and at the same time Chair APEC SMEWG Aaron Sydor said, there are four important elements in increasing digital literacy for MSMEs.

First, granting access to capital and other sources of financing. Second, access to financial services. Third, access to digital financial liberation.

"And the fourth is access to financial inclusiveness," he said.

Similarly, Head of the Unit on SME and Entrepreneurship Transformation OECD Lucia Cusmano said the emphasis on achieving financial inclusion was on financial education.

"Without financial education opening digital literacy, further financial inclusion will not be achieved," he said.

Head of the Legal and Cooperation Bureau of the Coordinating Ministry for SME Hendra Saragih added that the APEC Policy Dialogue theme forum is in line with the 4th priority area of APEC SMEWG Strategic Plan for 2021-2024, namely "Access to finance and alternative financial solutions" and Peru Chairmanship in APEC 2024 namely Empower, Include and Grow. Especially for the second priority area, namely innovation and digitalization to promotion transition to the formal and global economy.

"The initiation of APEC Policy Dialogue project is the first step taken by the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs in an effort to classify Indonesia's commitments and take concrete benefits from regional cooperation forums for MSMEs in the region, both now and in the future," he added.