ASDP Helps Labuan Bajo SMEs Get Halal Certification To Increase Productivity

JAKARTA - PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) is assisting MSMEs fostered partners in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), to obtain halal certificates with the aim of increasing their business productivity.

"This program is expected to be able to increase the competitiveness and buying and selling capacity of the fostered partners," said PT ASDP Indonesia Corporate Secretary Ferry Shelvy Arifin in a statement, quoted from Antara, Monday, August 1.

He said the company is committed to supporting MSMEs in the managed port work environment to improve the quality of their products, including encouraging them to be certified halal for the raw materials used. ASDP disbursed Rp271 million through the Environmental Social Responsibility (TJSL) program by holding Halal Certification Training and Procurement for ASDP Foster Partners.

In accordance with the direction of the Ministry of SOEs, ASDP carries out corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities which are divided into 3 categories. First, the education sector. The second is the field of Environment, and the last is the Empowerment of MSMEs. The Halal Certification Training and Procurement activities in Labuan Bajo are part of the MSME Empowerment category.

"Overall in Labuan Bajo there are 22 assisted MSMEs, 10 of which are engaged in the culinary field who received training this time. With this certificate, we hope to help boost the income of the MSMEs fostered partners by increasing sales of the products produced," said Shelvy.

He explained that in the MSME Empowerment program which lasted for six months, a series of activities would be carried out starting from Halal Certification Socialization, Training, Document Preparation Assistance, Halal Audit Process to obtaining Halal Certificate.

In this program, ASDP will assist with financing from the start of training to obtaining a Halal Certificate. The MSMEs are asked to prepare the necessary documents for legality and culinary making ingredients which will be investigated by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the target is that in October 10 of the MSMEs fostered partners will get halal certificates.

One of the MSMEs fostered by Bajolayers, Waty (40) said that he and his fellow business actors in Labuan Bajo are very grateful to be included in this program, because having a halal certificate is expected to increase the turnover of the business they have been doing so far.

"Currently the business that I market is only through social media and based on direct customer orders, where for a week my turnover is around Rp. 3 million. I hope that if this halal certificate is issued later, I plan to open booths in shops to market culinary products so it will be more productive which in the end can increase sales turnover," he said.