Minister Praises East Kalimantan for Streamlining MSME Licensing

The Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has given high praise to the Provincial Government of East Kalimantan (Kaltim) for providing ease of licensing and certification to MSMEs, enabling them to thrive. “Extraordinary, I was surprised. It turns out, from the accounts of MSME players here, they are served very quickly and easily,” said Minister of MSMEs Maman Abdurrahman at the opening of the Festival of Ease and Protection for Micro Enterprises at the BSCC Dome Balikpapan on Wednesday. According to Maman, this bureaucratic efficiency is clear evidence that the East Kalimantan Provincial Government, together with district and city governments, has a strong commitment to boosting regional economic growth by strengthening the grassroots sector. “The policies, breakthroughs, and positive steps taken by the East Kalimantan Provincial Government and all district and city governments are already very worthy of being categorised as MSME-friendly,” Maman asserted. Responding to this assessment, East Kalimantan Governor Rudy Mas’ud explained that his administration has prepared a strategic roadmap to strengthen the local business ecosystem. He stated that the provincial government is placing great attention on priority programmes throughout 2026, focusing on digitalisation, standardisation, and international market expansion. Several ongoing priority programmes include the Cooperative Empowerment and Protection Programme, which covers intensive mentoring for modern cooperative transformation and strengthening cooperatives in the real sector. “We are also implementing the MSME Development Programme and Technical Guidance for SME Exports. Our target this year is to produce 100 export-ready SMEs through certification facilitation, partnership expansion, and improving digital literacy among SMEs,” Rudy elaborated. The East Kalimantan Provincial Government is also actively facilitating business players to access the global market through export development programmes. Concrete steps include participation in Trade Expo Indonesia, business matching agendas, and end-to-end mentoring for active and prospective exporters from East Kalimantan. In the human resources capacity-building sector, the provincial government is targeting the empowerment of 1,050 MSMEs during the 2025–2026 period through the Integrated Entrepreneurship Programme (PKT). This programme includes various practical vocational training courses, such as culinary arts, barista skills, digital printing, sewing, and official competency certification facilitation for SME players. Rudy added that the PKT programme is being rolled out in phases to ensure equitable economic development across all regions of Benua Etam. “We are rolling out this PKT programme in all districts and cities. The first phase began in 2025 in Samarinda, Balikpapan, and Kutai Kartanegara. Next, in 2026, the programme will be expanded to Bontang, North Penajam Paser (PPU), and other areas,” he explained. To ensure the sustainability of the business ecosystem in the future, the East Kalimantan Provincial Government is also building long-term foundations through the Jospol project. This strategic project includes physical downstream infrastructure, such as Shared Production Houses (RPB) and industrial estates. Several currently underway include the RPB for Animal Feed and RPB Pamigo in Kutai Kartanegara Regency. Meanwhile, the massive physical construction of industrial estates is scheduled to commence in 2027. Beyond production facilities, the provincial government is also focusing on improving the supply chain by building a Provincial Distribution Centre (PDP). This logistics infrastructure is expected to shorten the distribution chain for raw material suppliers, thereby stabilising prices.