Kemenko PM Strengthens Village Economic Ecosystem in East Lampung

JAKARTA — The Ministry of Coordinating for Community Empowerment (Kemenko PM) is strengthening the development of the village economic ecosystem in East Lampung Regency through a community-based empowerment approach. This effort focuses on optimising local potential by emphasising the enhancement of community social and economic capital. Deputy for Coordinating Community Economic Empowerment and Migrant Worker Protection at Kemenko PM, Leontinus Alpha Edison, stated that economic development does not solely rely on government policies but also on local-level community initiatives. According to him, top-down development approaches often fail to fully capture local dynamics. Therefore, the strengthening of the village ecosystem is directed towards collaboration between government and communities so that implemented programmes are more relevant to on-the-ground needs. Kemenko PM also held a Dialogue with the Deputy (DBD) session. This forum serves as a space for business actors, cooperatives, and other stakeholders to directly convey their aspirations and challenges. The developed empowerment ecosystem is based on four main pillars, namely digital innovation, financial literacy, entrepreneurship ecosystems, and migrant worker protection. The implementation of these four pillars is aimed at strengthening micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives, and the protection system for Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) in an integrated manner. East Lampung Regent Ela Siti Nuryamah stated that collaboration between central and regional governments is a key factor in driving village-based economic growth. In addition to government, the involvement of international organisations is also part of strengthening that ecosystem. ILO PROTECT Programme Coordinator for Labour Migration, Sinthia Harkrisnowo, expressed her support for improving migrant worker protection standards. “We fully support the national action plan for migrant worker protection through enhanced digital literacy and technical skills so that they can compete globally with robust occupational safety guarantees,” said Sinthia. Leontinus added that migrant worker protection needs to start from the village level through strengthening social capital as the main foundation.