Govt urged to optimize UNIDO aid for SMEs
Govt urged to optimize UNIDO aid for SMEs
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The aid agreement signed by the government and the United
Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) here late
last month should be excellent momentum for the empowerment of
small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), businessman Tony Agus
Ardie says.
"We should optimally utilize the technical assistance,
expertise, information and other resources offered by UNIDO,
which has experience in helping empower SMEs in many developing
countries," added Tony in an interview.
A UNIDO mission, headed by Director General Carlos Alfredo
Magarinos, made a three-day visit to Indonesia, including
Yogyakarta, last month to reaffirm its commitment to helping
develop SMEs in the country.
During the visit, Magarinos and Industry and Trade Minister
Rini Soewandi signed the UNIDO Country Service Framework
Agreement for Indonesia.
"The projects to be funded under the agreement are valued at
only about US$8 million, but they are nevertheless important as a
catalyst for the empowerment of SMEs," said Tony who accompanied
the UNIDO delegation during its visit to Yogyakarta.
Tony recalled Magarinos' reiteration of the vital role of SMEs
as a major generator of jobs and consequently a key instrument to
reduce poverty, thereby removing some of the primary causes of
crime and terrorism.
As UNIDO's primary mission is to promote industrial
development, notably with SMEs in developing countries, and
enhance industrial cooperation at the global, regional and
national levels, Indonesia can benefit greatly from the resources
the organization has and the experience and expertise it had,
according to Tony.
During his visit to Yogyakarta, Magarinos visited an
integrated shrimp farming venture developed by Tony's PT Indokor
in cooperation with local farmers and Gadjah Mada University, as
well as a leather industrial center.
The UNIDO chief praised the three-pillar concept used by the
Yogyakarta administration in empowering SMEs, involving
businesses and the Gadjah Mada University under the leadership of
Yogyakarta's Governor Sultan Hamengku Buwono.
The development of SMEs, according to Magarinos, should be
based primarily on local initiatives and the three-pillar concept
promoted by the sultan augurs well for the promotion of local
initiatives and creativity.
Tony added that much had been written and preached about of
the vital role played by SMEs to create employment, as well as
the creativity and flexibility of SMEs in adapting to changing
economic environments.
"What is urgently needed now is actual implementation of the
commitment to empower the grass-roots economy through integrated
technical assistance in production and marketing and easy access
to soft-term loans," Tony said.
He said with more than 40 million people fully unemployed or
under-employed and most big businesses still grappling with
mountains of bad debts, the empowerment of SMEs was indeed
necessary.
Indonesia, he added, could benefit greatly, especially from
UNIDO's concept of establishing clusters of upstream and
downstream industries.
Single-industry clusters, for example, in leather or
agribusiness, could become specialized in certain areas, reducing
overall costs for suppliers, workers, infrastructure development
and other related logistics, he said.
Tony added that clusters of industries could reduce the costs
of transportation and significantly improve the supply chain
management. This in turn could decrease the costs of distribution
and other logistical arrangements that usually account for more
than 15 percent of free-on-board prices of export commodities in
Indonesia.
He said superior logistical capability in clusters of
industries allows companies to revamp their supply chain
management to ensure the smooth movement of goods to the final
users.
"Clusters of industries also enable assemblers and the big
retail chains to gain maximum cost savings by rationalizing when
and where they want to procure products and how they organize
production," Tony added.