Airlangga Hartarto Affirms Indonesia Needs Four Million New Entrepreneurs In Today's Memory, November 24, 2018

One form of entrepreneur is a burlap sack craft in Kadudampit, Sukabumi, West Java.. (Between/Henry Purba)

JAKARTA Memories of today, six years ago, November 24, 2018, Minister of Industry, Airlangga Hartarto emphasized that Indonesia needed four million new entrepreneurs. This number was revealed in order to help Indonesia's economic growth.

Previously, entrepreneurship was a limited field in Indonesia. The development is not much. Far among the average number of entrepreneurs from developed countries. This condition is quite in contrast to the total population of Indonesia, which now reaches 260 million.

The opening of jobs in Indonesia is never massive. This narrative is because not many of the nation's next generations choose careers as entrepreneurs. Most people in the regions actually want to rely on their dreams of becoming Civil Servants (PNS).

This view is further from the creation of large-scale job opportunities. The government also sometimes doesn't want to be dizzy. They combine limited job conditions while providing solutions to work abroad.

This option does help the Indonesian people find work, but cannot be said to be a long-term solution. Moreover, the work taken by Indonesian migrant workers is only at the level of low level, not skilled.

Indonesia needs to build in its own country. The government should also be able to build according to the mandate of the 1945 Constitution to ensure the welfare of its people. However, it is still far from expectations.

Executive Director of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo), Danang Girindrawardana, spoke up. He revealed that the number of entrepreneurs in the country currently only reaches 3.1 percent of the total population of productive age.

A large number is too small compared to entrepreneurs in other countries, which on average reaches 14 percent. Indonesia is still lacking here and there. Even education becomes entrepreneurship is not much. Because, the capital of the intention will not be enough.

"The latest figure of our entrepreneurs is only 3.1 percent of the total number of people at Indonesia's productive age. In contrast to the number in developed countries that can reach 14 percent. This means that there is still a gap that is far between that," said Danang as quoted by the CNN Indonesia page, October 19, 2018.

This fact made the Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartanto moved on November 24, 2018. He realized that Indonesia only had 3.1 percent entrepreneurship. That number is actually enough. A number that is considered to have exceeded the international standard of only two percent.

However, Indonesia has a mission to become a great nation. The mission is a differentiator. Airlangga also said that Indonesia needs at least four million new entrepreneurs. This number was captured as part of pursuing Indonesia's lag behind other countries.

Airlangga also tried to call on other ministers to focus on the presence of entrepreneurs in various fields. All these efforts were made to increase Indonesia's competitiveness and productivity, especially in the digital era.

Actions to increase entrepreneurship cannot be delayed. The urgency is high. It can be used to open jobs pages and help Indonesia's economic growth in the future.

"Therefore, in order for Indonesia to become a developed country, the government continues to spur entrepreneurial growth including small and medium industries (IKM), as well as increase productivity and competitiveness in the digital era," said Airlangga as quoted on the tempo.co page, November 24, 2018.