Through EFF 2023, Kemenkop UKM Wants To Improve Access To Entrepreneurship Cluster Ecosystem-Based Financing

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) is again holding the 2023 Financial Fiesta Entrepreneur (EFF), which will focus on developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem by increasing access to entrepreneurial cluster ecosystem-based financing.

Deputy for Entrepreneurship of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Siti Azizah, said that through EFF 2023, KemenKopUKM will strengthen entrepreneurial acceleration and start-ups in obtaining access to financing and capital.

"This effort is expected to accelerate more quickly access to financing and capital for entrepreneurs," said Deputy Azizah in Jakarta, on Monday, July 17.

Azizah said that his party would cooperate with four experienced Corporate Accelerations (CA) as accelerators for entrepreneurs and start-ups, such as LBS Urun Dana, Arqam, Siger Hub, and MBN Consulting.

"The goal is to attract crowd-funding investors in the form of sukuk and stock funding, with the acceleration stages in the form of open calls, webinars, bootscamps, mentoring, and listing funding on the platform," he said.

He explained that the process of scoring the 2023 EFF entrepreneurial cluster ecosystem has started since January 2023 with a two-method approach. First, facilitation with a ball pick-up pattern directly to potential entrepreneurs or start-ups. The second method, namely open call (walk in) to capture the new entrepreneurial cluster ecosystem.

From the scouting process, approximately 22 potential entrepreneurial cluster ecosystems were caught. The success of this activity includes the process of scoring phase, acceleration phase, to the deals phase (submission of financing and capital).

"This will be a momentum for the increasing number of potential entrepreneurs to be integrated into the cluster ecosystem, which increases their business capacity through increasing access to financing from banking institutions or non-banks," he said.

Furthermore, said Azizah, his party is also committed to accelerating with KUR channeling banks to fund the cluster ecosystem of fostered partners.

"Cluster KUR financing will be a more incentive for novice start-ups and entrepreneurs to develop their ecosystem. With a low interest rate of six percent, it is hoped that there will be an increase in business capacity from business actors," he said.