Deputy Chairperson Of Commission VI DPR Aria Bima Asks For Strengthening Financial Literacy Of Ultra Micro Business Actors

Deputy Chairman of Commission VI DPR RI Aria Bima. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chair of Commission VI DPR RI Aria Bima stated that strengthening financial literacy is important in order to help ultra-micro businesses to be able to access formal financial financing.

"The low access of UMi (ultra micro) to formal finance is caused by the low financial literacy of UMi actors," said Aria Bima in a release quoted by Antara in Jakarta, Saturday, February 5.

Aria Bima expressed his hope that SOE Holding Ultra Micro (consisting of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero), PT Pegadaian and PT Permodalan Nasional Madani) should be ready to help ultra micro business actors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, market conditions are still quite challenging. .

Holding UMi, he continued, is expected to be able to expand its reach, promote financial inclusion, become a medium of sustainable financing and help business actors who do not yet have access to formal funding sources with the support of BRI, Pegadaian and PNM networks.

He also emphasized the importance that SOE Holding Ultra Micro (UMi) needs to provide guidance to its MSME network in order to improve the quality of local products for export to the international world, especially marketing through the world of technology.

"The MSME network in BUMN Holding Ultra Micro will not only be able to enter into the aspect of strengthening capital. Also so that the guidance can also directly handle product quality which is not only for the interest of the domestic market but also for the benefit of the export market with technology," said Aria Bima.

The PDIP faction politician reminded that based on data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, the number of micro-enterprises reached 98.7 percent of MSMEs in Indonesia and contributed to 109.84 million workers or 89.04 percent of the total workforce and contributed 37.35 percent of the total workforce. GDP in 2019.

As is known, the UMi financing was formed by the Government as a financing facility aimed at Ultra Micro Enterprises. This UMi financing, both in the form of conventional financing and financing based on sharia principles is regulated in the Minister of Finance Regulation Number 193/PMK.05/2020 dated December 10, 2020.

As reported, PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) continues to facilitate the distribution of ultra-micro loans with financing of up to Rp. 10 million through the BRILink agent to facilitate loan applications for business actors.

BRI President Director Sunarso in a statement in Jakarta, Friday, February 4, said that his party continues to open the widest possible access to financial services to the public, one of which is through the BRILink agent, to encourage the integration of the ultra-micro ecosystem.

He ensured that access to financing for ultra micro business actors was an effort to raise the level of ultra micro business actors. BRI continues to encourage this, as can be seen from the commitment of the company which is the parent company for Ultra Micro SOE Holding.

"With the wide reach of BRILink agents, we hope that ultra micro businesses can apply for financing more easily and closely. This financing facility will then become the 'fuel' for ultra micro businesses in increasing business scale," said Sunarso.

Currently, the number of BRILink Agents has increased significantly to reach 503,151 agents at the end of December 2021. Throughout 2021, loan referrals through BRILink Agents have also recorded a growth of 333.31 percent with a total ceiling of Rp.4.36 trillion.