Government targets construction of 25,000 Merah Putih Cooperatives within three months

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto has targeted the construction of more than 25,000 Merah Putih Cooperatives across Indonesia within three months as a concrete effort to massively strengthen the foundations of the people’s economy.

“Shortly, we will inaugurate 1,000 Merah Putih Cooperatives. Possibly in two or three weeks. After that, in two to three months, we will inaugurate more than 25,000 cooperatives,” said Prabowo at the “groundbreaking” event for 13 downstreaming projects in Cilacap, Central Java, via the YouTube broadcast of the Cabinet Secretariat in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The President emphasised that the cooperatives being built are physical institutions equipped with complete supporting facilities for operations.

He mentioned that each cooperative will later be provided with warehouses, cooling equipment, and operational vehicles for goods distribution.

The Merah Putih Cooperatives represent a strategic government initiative launched by President Prabowo Subianto as a pillar for strengthening the people’s economy through Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 9 of 2025.

This programme targets the establishment of up to 80,000 cooperative units across the remotest parts of Indonesia to encourage village self-reliance and accelerate the achievement of national food and energy sovereignty.

The presence of these cooperatives is designed as the primary aggregator for rural economies with trade governance through a digitalisation system.

The cooperatives will also provide other facilities such as savings and loan services, fertiliser distribution, and the construction of cold storage facilities for fishermen.