Maman Abdurrahman stresses results-oriented financing for MSMEs
Badung, Bali (ANTARA) – Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Maman Abdurrahman has stressed that financing for MSMEs should be results-oriented, focusing on higher productivity and business growth rather than simply maximising the amount of credit disbursed.
“The success of government credit programmes cannot be measured only by how much funding we manage to disburse; it must be assessed by the impact that financing has on micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs,” Maman said in Nusa Dua, Badung Regency, Bali, on Thursday.
This approach is important to strengthening MSMEs’ contribution to the national economy.
Maman said MSMEs are one of Indonesia’s main economic strengths, contributing around 61 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and employing approximately 95–97 per cent of the workforce.
Given this substantial contribution, he said, financing support needs to help businesses grow, expand their markets and become more competitive.
The government must therefore ensure that credit is suited to the needs and capabilities of each business owner.
However, access to formal financing continues to face several obstacles.
Maman said some MSME owners lack adequate financial records, sufficient financial literacy and the business information that lenders need to assess creditworthiness.
Meanwhile, financing providers also face difficulties obtaining accurate business data and designing credit schemes suited to the characteristics of MSMEs.
These conditions make mentoring an important part of financing policy. Maman said business owners need to learn how to manage capital so that the funds they receive genuinely support their businesses’ long-term viability.
“Micro, small and medium-sized businesses need guidance on how to use the credit they receive,” he said.
To address these needs, the Ministry of MSMEs is developing an empowerment ecosystem through the Sapa UMKM digital platform.
The platform brings together services covering business capacity-building, legal compliance, certification, digitalisation, financing and market access.
The government is also seeking to connect these services with provincial, regency and city administrations so that support for business owners can be delivered in a more coordinated way.
Maman said financing must go hand in hand with improvements in business management. With orderly financial records and a strong business track record, MSMEs are expected to find it easier to earn the trust of financial institutions.
“A good business track record will help build the confidence of financing institutions, while also expanding opportunities for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to move up to the next level more quickly,” he said.
He added that trust is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of MSME financing. The government must ensure that its policies continue to uphold prudential principles and good governance, balancing the interests of businesses and financial institutions.
Maman said he hoped collaboration between the government and financial institutions would deliver financing with the greatest possible impact for MSMEs, while opening up opportunities for their products and services to reach domestic and global markets.