IFC opens new office in Makassar
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) opened in Makassar, South Sulawesi, a new regional office as part of its program to help small and medium enterprises (SME) in the eastern part of Indonesia on Tuesday.
The office, one of IFC's five regional offices located in the country, will provide targeted technical assistance to improve the livelihoods of farming and coastal communities across Eastern Indonesia, according to a press release.
The program, called PENSA or Program for Eastern Indonesia SME Assistance, a five-year technical assistance program, is co- funded by IFC and the governments of Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
"Combining PENSA's grant-funded technical assistance with IFC's investment capability gives us a powerful tool to support smaller companies that are so important to poverty reduction," said IFC senior manager for the East Asia Pacific region Tim Krause.
IFC, the investment arm of the World Bank, manages the US$22 million initial funding to provide training and assistance aimed at improving SMEs capacity and competitiveness.
In Makassar, PENSA's work covered agriculture sub-sectors such as cocoa, maize, poultry and seaweed.
The program was initially launched in September last year by IFC and the Indonesian government.
The PENSA was said to focus on business sectors which have "regional comparative advantages", such as furniture and handicrafts in Denpasar (Bali), mining in Balikpapan (East Kalimantan), and agribusiness in Makassar (South Sulawesi).
It would also conduct various training programs for banks and other financing institutions in Surabaya, East Java, to create a wider financial access for SMEs.
However, although the national program was launched last year, the program for South Sulawesi had just recently been launched by Governor Amin Syam on Tuesday.
PENSA is one of 12 IFC-managed SME facilities, joining others in Africa, the Mekong region, China's Sichuan province, Southeast Europe, South Asia, Pacific Islands, North Africa, Latin America, Sri Lanka and the Middle East.