Minister Maman Pushes for More Equitable Access to SME Credit Beyond Java
Badung, Bali (ANTARA) — Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Maman Abdurrahman is pushing for more equitable access to credit for SMEs beyond Java, so that opportunities for financing and business support are distributed across Indonesia.
“Indonesia is not just Java; it consists of many diverse regions and covers an extraordinarily vast area,” Maman said in Nusa Dua, Badung regency, Bali, on Thursday.
Maman stressed that Indonesia’s vast territory and the differing characteristics of its regions require empowerment policies that can reach business owners in all parts of the country. He said fairness must be the guiding principle in expanding access to support for SMEs.
One initiative being advanced by the Ministry of SMEs is the development of the Sapa UMKM digital platform. It is designed to bring together services for business development, legal status, certification, digitalisation, financing and market access in a single ecosystem.
Maman said provincial, regency and municipal governments would also be involved in integrating these services to improve coordination in supporting businesses.
“We are working to establish an ecosystem for empowering micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, connecting business development, legal status, certification, digitalisation, financing and market access for SMEs on a single digital platform that we have launched, called Sapa UMKM,” he said.
Alongside the platform, the government is promoting stronger support for women running micro-enterprises through the Laksmi programme (Inclusive Microbusiness Capacity Acceleration Initiative) and a flagship entrepreneurship marketplace.
The programmes are intended to strengthen entrepreneurial skills and connect business owners with financing opportunities and business partners.
Maman said that equitable empowerment requires more than simply providing access to capital. Business owners also need guidance to use financing productively and develop their enterprises sustainably.
Co-operation between central and local government and financial institutions is therefore essential to ensure empowerment programmes reach SMEs in ways that meet their needs.