40 Million MSMEs Without Business Identification Numbers; Government to Streamline Licensing Process
Approximately 40 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia are estimated not to have a Business Identification Number (NIB). The government is preparing measures to accelerate the licensing process so that micro-enterprises can more easily obtain business legality through the Online Single Submission (OSS) system.
The Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Deputy Head of BKPM, Todotua Pasaribu, said that the legality of MSMEs is important so that government programmes can be properly implemented. Therefore, the legalisation of MSMEs is important and should be carried out through the issuance of NIBs.
“This means that if these business actors can become legal and have a legal status and clear permits, then that is also why government programmes in the Coordinating Ministry for MSMEs can be implemented more quickly and more effectively,” he said at a press conference at the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM Office, South Jakarta, Tuesday (24 February 2026).
Todotua noted that to date, the number of NIBs issued has reached approximately 15.2 million. Of this number, approximately 14.9 million are micro-enterprises, while the potential number of micro-enterprises in Indonesia is estimated to reach approximately 56 million.
“So there are still a large number, around 40 million, that we need to address so that these business actors can soon have business legality, and this will also be good for the country, as the contribution of revenue from the MSME sector will certainly increase,” added Todotua.
So far, one of the obstacles to the issuance of NIBs has been the requirement to fulfil the Spatial Utilisation Activity Compliance Approval (PKKPR) or location permit. The PKKPR process is considered time-consuming because it requires a number of technical requirements, which causes delays in the issuance of NIBs.
To overcome this, the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming has issued a Circular Letter from the Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of BKPM Number 1 of 2026 concerning the provisions for the issuance of land-based PKKPRs for micro-enterprises. Through this policy, micro-enterprises can process PKKPRs through a simpler mechanism.
“We have issued this circular letter, and in the next three months, we will upgrade it into a Ministerial Regulation, which stipulates that for micro-enterprises or for actors in micro-enterprises, their PKKPR or, as it used to be known, their location permit, can be processed through a self-declaration,” he explained.
With this mechanism, micro-enterprises only need to state the location and address of their business through the OSS system. After the self-declaration is submitted, the PKKPR approval can be issued automatically, making the NIB issuance process faster.
“So, micro-enterprises will still be required to state where they are located. The self-declaration only needs to state the location, address, and so on. And this can be done without any further technical verification, and the NIB can then be issued,” he concluded.
(ily/ara)