PT IRT Supports MSME Development Around PLTU USC Jawa 9&10

JAKARTA - Residents in Suralaya Village, Lebakgede Village, Pulomerak District, Cilegon City, and Salira Village, Serang Regency, which are dominated by women want to be able to be independent and compete, especially in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.

This enthusiasm is reflected in the business development training held by PT Indo Raya Tenaga (IRT), which involved women entrepreneurs of MSMEs around the PLTU USC Jawa 9&10 construction project.

On that occasion, they received briefing from the Office of Cooperatives and MSMEs in Cilegon City, Bank BRI Cilegon Branch, and an MSME actor from Suralaya.

The MSME assistant for the Cilegon City Cooperative & MSME Service, Nurul Mutmainah, on the occasion, welcomed the optimism of the MSME actors. Nurul said that the role of the Cilegon City government was to provide guidance to MSME actors, one of which was by placing cadres in villages spread over 43 Kelurahan.

"A number of methods in order to improve the quality of MSME actors are providing guidance, training, to assisting with marketing. In this case, relevant agencies are also involved," explained Nurul at the training held on Thursday, June 2.

Nurul added, so far the Cilegon City government through related agencies has always been involved in terms of licensing, improving quality, to marketing MSME products.

"With quality improvement, MSME actors automatically must also complete licensing, starting with halal labels, labels suitable for consumption, distribution labels, and other permits that can support business continuity. Thus the products produced can be widely marketed," he explained. .

On the same occasion, representatives of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Cilegon Branch who were present as resource persons gave material related to banking involvement in the business world. Banks are ready to help these business actors to develop.

"In addition to skills and crafts as the main capital, money is one of the supporters in order to achieve smoothness in carrying out activities, so the program for MSME players, BRI has many programs, namely People's Business Credit or KUR, with small and affordable annual interest," said BRI Cilegon Branch Manager. , Muhammad Sigit Yudanto.

Sigit suggested, if MSME actors make loans to banks, they should also be able to manage finances. Thus, loan money from banks can be revolved for business purposes and not for personal interests.

"In order for capital assistance to be right on target, financial arrangements must be properly managed, so that failure or bankruptcy can be minimized," he added.

One of the SMEs in Suralaya, Yuli, shared his success story on that occasion. He revealed, it is not easy to be successful. However, thanks to his tenacity, since 2014 he has started the business of producing kretek chili sauce, banana chips, and processing waste cooking oil into laundry soap, now his turnover is more than ten million per month.

"The journey of almost 8 years of SMEs with kretek sauce, the twists and turns of the business journey has been passed. The bottom line is that a trading business if you want to be successful must be tenacious, and continue to learn tirelessly," said Yuli, motivating other MSME actors.

Regarding this training, PT IRT Project GM Steve Adrianto said that MSMEs are the largest part of the national economy and can be an indicator of the level of community participation in various sectors of economic activity.

In Suralaya and Lebakgede Villages, Pulomerak District, Cilegon City, the potential for MSME development is very large. There are around 165 MSMEs in Suralaya Village and 21 MSMEs in Lebak Gede Village.

Steve said the development of MSMEs can expand employment opportunities and take advantage of the potential of natural resources and human resources so that it will increase the economic growth of a region.

"PT Indo Raya Tenaga as the developer of the PLTU USC Jawa 9&10 development project wants to contribute and be a part of the development of MSMEs in Cilegon City, especially Suralaya and Lebakgede Villages. Therefore, we participate in conducting business development training," said Steve together with Kardi Kasiran from IRT management.

The training activity aims to provide basic knowledge to residents around the USC Jawa 9&10 PLTU construction project area, namely Suralaya Village, Lebakgede Village, and Salira Village regarding tips and steps to start a business according to the potential and expertise of each business actor.