BRI Supports Red And White Village Cooperatives Through BRILink's Empowerment And Service Agent

Agent BRILink (Photo: BRI)

JAKARTA - PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BRI) fully supports the initiative to form the Red and White Village Cooperative as part of the Asta Cita Pemerintah in improving the welfare of the community and strengthening the independence of the rural economy.

In his presentation, BRI President Director Hery Gunardi explained that since the KDMP program began to be echoed, BRI has designed a healthy financing model and has a maintained risk of refunds.

Meanwhile, the financing scheme is prepared to adjust the working capital needs based on a business scale (small, medium, or large) and is calculated according to the estimated business turnover.

However, in the field itself there are still several challenges in the management of cooperatives. Hery revealed that managerial capacity and transparency in financial recording are the 2 main issues that need to be addressed immediately in developing cooperatives.

As a result, to answer these challenges, he said that BRI would optimize the role of BUMN House and BRILiaN Village as the home of business assistance incubators. Through these two programs, said Hery, cooperative administrators will be accompanied in preparing business bookkeeping, managing cash flow, and implementing more professional governance.

Furthermore, he said that in addition to strengthening the institutional foundation of cooperatives, BRI also continues to encourage cooperatives that have local product potential to expand their market reach.

Bank not only provides access to financing, but can also diverge existing businesses. For example, in their village they have the production of handicrafts or specific products that they want to export, BRI can facilitate through a business matching mechanism," said Hery, Monday, July 21.

Hery also added, as part of strengthening the KDMP ecosystem, BRI maximizes the role of AgentBRILink, which has now spread over 1.2 million points throughout Indonesia.

Through the BRILink Agent service, cooperatives can run various financial transactions, such as deposits and cash withdrawals, top-ups, bill payments, to installments. This service will make it easier for the public to access financial services more closely, cheaper, and inclusively.

The various steps taken by BRI are also in line with the government's commitment. The Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Zulkifli Hasan, said that cooperatives that are managed professionally and in favor of the people will become the main instrument in building an independent and sustainable village economy.

"Currently, loan sharks are mushrooming, therefore we ask BRI for help to overcome this, through the existence of BRI's BRILink Agent, which amounts to 1.2 million agents. This cooperative understands the condition of its village, so that the potential of the village can grow. If for example there are profitable businesses, then existing cooperatives can help propose members to provide BRI's KUR financing," said Zulkifli Hasan.

Similarly, Member of the Expert Council of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) Anton J Supit emphasized that the success of cooperatives is highly dependent on professional and transparent governance.

"We believe that this is a constitutional mandate and the spirit of the people's economy that continues to be echoed by the government. With the right institutional structure and a comprehensive approach, this cooperative has a great opportunity to succeed and provide tangible benefits for the village community," he concluded.