Cooperatives must refocus on business development, says minister
Cooperatives and SMEs Minister Ferry Juliantono is encouraging cooperatives to change their orientation from merely managing institutional aspects to becoming entities that actively develop business and enterprise.
“We are now also continuing to push cooperatives to build business and enterprise development patterns to enter the production sector, return to the distribution, industrial and financial sectors,” Ferry said at the Fifth Congress of Wahdah Islamiyah in Jakarta on Saturday, as quoted from a press statement.
Ferry said cooperatives have so far tended to focus more on institutional aspects, while business and enterprise development has not been a primary concern.
According to him, administrative activities such as annual member meetings are indeed important in cooperative governance. However, the holding of annual member meetings should be followed up with cooperative business development.
He stressed that this transformation is part of President Prabowo Subianto’s mandate to carry out major reforms of cooperatives so that they can once again become one of the drivers of the national economy.
In this transformation process, Ferry said the Ministry of Cooperatives is preparing a number of strategies, including rebranding cooperatives, promoting digitalisation, and improving cooperative governance.
Ferry said rebranding is needed to change the image of cooperatives, which have often been considered outdated business entities, especially among the younger generation.
In addition, the ministry is encouraging existing cooperatives to utilise digital technology in running their business activities. According to Ferry, cooperatives that do not keep up with technological developments risk being left behind.
He added that the government is also promoting cooperative development through collaboration with various parties, including Islamic boarding schools and community groups.
The ministry, he continued, is even initiating the formation of cooperative business entities within mosque environments so that economic activities can provide benefits to congregants.