Distributing Banpres For Productive Micro Enterprises, Jokowi Asks MSMEs To Survive

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Screenshot)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo distributed presidential assistance for micro productive enterprises (BPUM) with a total value of Rp. 15.3 trillion to micro and small business actors today.

In the courtyard of the State Palace, Jokowi said that there will be 12.8 million micro and small business actors who will be the target recipients of assistance during the PPKM Level 1 to 4 period.

"There are 12.8 million micro and small business actors throughout the country and (aid) is starting to be distributed today. I hope this can help boost our economy. I think so," Jokowi said in a Youtube video broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat, Friday, July 30.

Jokowi admitted that he understood that the economic conditions felt by the community were very difficult. However, he said this difficulty is not only felt in micro-enterprises.

"Not only small, medium and large businesses, all of them are in very, very difficult conditions. It is very difficult and it's also not only experienced by entrepreneurs in Indonesia. All of them, all over the world the conditions are the same," said Jokowi. However, Jokowi asked all business actors to maintain their business because of the restrictions on activities in PPKM.

Jokowi asked business actors to wait for the economic recovery to run optimally, while the government carried out the COVID-19 vaccination program to achieve herd immunity.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have to work even harder with a situation like this, survive with all our might even though the turnover has fallen to 75 percent, up to half, we must continue to work because we are still in the process of getting to 70 percent vaccination," said Jokowi.

"We hope that, God willing, by the end of this year we can finish it. If it is 75 percent, at least the transmission of this virus will be somewhat hampered if communal immunity or herd immunity has been achieved," he continued.