Kadin plans trading house to help SMEs

Tony Hotland, Jakarta

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) plans to set up a trading house to help market products from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) both domestically and overseas.

"The point is that the company will buy (the products) and help market them in the country or export them abroad," the chamber's chairman, M.S. Hidayat, said on Friday.

He said the chamber would soon begin the process of identifying products with the potential to be marketed, as well as surveying potential markets.

"A brief look shows that handicrafts, woven clothing and snacks are products that have the potential to be developed," he said.

Hidayat said the chamber would work with four banks to help finance the marketing efforts. The four banks are Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Bank Mandiri and Bank Central Asia.

Most SMEs here have trouble marketing their products, especially internationally, because of a lack of promotion and marketing networks.

About 98 percent of businesses in the country are SMEs.

"Most SMEs produce things first, then they have problems marketing the products. We are going to turn this around by surveying the market first and seeing what the demand is before producing products," Hidayat said.

He also said the chamber would begin circulating on July 1 a pledge to help the SMEs, as well as organizing an exhibition of products made by SMEs from across the country.

"The declaration will be signed by representatives from Bank Indonesia, industries, banks, non-governmental organizations and the media," he said.