Coordinating Minister Praises PNM's Empowerment Programme in Gresik
Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment (Menko PM) Muhaimin Iskandar has expressed appreciation for the empowerment programme run by PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) for ultra-micro business operators in Watuagung Village, Bungah District, Gresik Regency, East Java.
The appreciation was conveyed by Muhaimin during a visit to Watuagung Village in the Mengare Island area. He observed first-hand the business activities of residents who are harnessing the potential of fisheries, fish ponds, and marine products through financing support and mentoring from PNM.
Watuagung Village has a population of around 3,000. Based on 2025 BPS data, 1,492 of them are women. Approximately 60% of women in the village are registered as PNM Mekaar customers.
Muhaimin believes that access to financing must be accompanied by mentoring so that community businesses can grow and have a greater impact on family economies.
“It is very effective in helping family economies, and I have received encouraging news that the account officers here are also the backbone of their families and are very active,” said Muhaimin.
PNM uses financing as an entry point for empowerment. Customers not only receive business capital but also mentoring to improve production capacity, product quality, marketing, and business legality.
One customer who has benefited from the programme is Lisminah, a shrimp paste producer in Watuagung. The business, which has been passed down through generations, has grown after receiving support from PNM Mekaar, both in terms of production capacity and product quality and marketing.
Business development is also carried out through a clustering approach. The marine product potential of the Mengare community is directed not only towards being sold as raw commodities but also towards being processed into value-added products.
The mentoring covers production, halal certification, business legality, brand strengthening, and packaging. These measures are expected to enhance the competitiveness of local products while expanding market access.
PNM President Director Kindaris said that the success of empowerment is not only measured by the amount of financing disbursed. According to him, the main indicator is the change that occurs in the lives of customers and their families.
“That change comes in a simple yet tangible form: growing businesses, strengthening family incomes, opening employment opportunities, and children gaining better learning opportunities,” said Kindaris.
In addition to economic empowerment, PNM is expanding the benefits of the programme through Ruang Pintar. The programme provides free learning spaces and mentoring for the families and children of PNM Mekaar customers who have limited access to supplementary learning.
PNM believes that strengthening women’s economic capacity can have a sustainable impact on families. Increased income not only helps meet household needs but also opens opportunities for children to gain better access to education and capacity development.
The empowerment programme is part of PNM’s efforts to expand the impact of coaching for outstanding customers through the #PNMuntukUMKM and #PNMPemberdayaanUMKM campaigns. The programme continues the previous year’s initiative titled #CariTauLangkahBaru.
On the same occasion, the Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, together with the National Amil Zakat Agency (Baznas), also distributed economic strengthening assistance through the ZMart Pesantren Programme, Baznas Ultra Mikro (BUMi) Masjid, and Santripreneur in Gresik, East Java.
At the programme inauguration held at Ihyaul Ulum Islamic Boarding School in Gresik on Saturday (8/8), assistance totalling Rp350 million was distributed to establish 7 ZMart Pesantren units, Rp500 million for 5 mosques under the BUMi Programme, and Santripreneur Programme assistance through a Circular Economy-Based Empowerment Garden worth Rp21 million.
“Since 2022, Baznas has allocated tens of billions of rupiah for the ZMart and BUMi Masjid programmes, and in East Java specifically, it has now reached approximately 23 ZMart units and hundreds of mosques in various regions,” said Baznas RI Chairman Sodik Mudjahid.