KWG Chair: Indonesia Needs More Entrepreneurs to Catch Up with Developed Nations

Indonesia still faces a major challenge in increasing its number of entrepreneurs. Although the economy continues to grow and micro, small, and medium enterprises (UMKM) form the backbone of the national economy, the country’s entrepreneurship ratio is considered to lag behind developed nations.

This was conveyed by the General Chair of the Gonzaga Entrepreneur Community (KWG) for the 2026-2029 period, Eddy Sambuaga, during the inauguration of the new KWG management in South Jakarta on Saturday, 13 June 2026.

According to Eddy, data from the Ministry of UMKM shows that Indonesia’s entrepreneurship ratio in 2025 only reached 3.29 per cent. This figure is far below developed countries, which generally have a business ownership ratio above 10 per cent.

“The national entrepreneurship ratio, which is still below that of developed countries, is a shared challenge we must address,” Eddy said.

He believes that increasing the number of entrepreneurs is one of the keys to strengthening national economic competitiveness while creating more jobs in the future.

Therefore, KWG is ready to support various entrepreneurship development efforts, including strengthening the UMKM sector and the people’s economy through concrete programmes and collaboration with various parties.

“We are ready to take part concretely, not with rhetoric, but with measurable programmes and real partnerships,” he stated.

In his view, being an entrepreneur is not only about business skills but also about resilience in facing various challenges and changes.

“Entrepreneurs are the most resilient group of people,” he said.

Besides encouraging the emergence of more business actors, Eddy also stressed the importance of regeneration in the world of entrepreneurship. He hopes more young people will get involved in various business development activities so they can face increasingly complex economic challenges.

Support for entrepreneurship development also came from the Chair of the Kolese Gonzaga Alumni Association (IKA GONA), Ariston Herwindo. According to him, alumni organisations have a strategic role in helping business actors who are just starting out as well as those who are already growing.

Ariston believes that an entrepreneur’s success is not solely determined by technical ability or business skills.

“Skills can be trained, but discipline and attitude are the most important things for an entrepreneur,” he said.