Minister's Special Staff: Red and White Village Cooperatives Will Not Kill Off Small Shops

Magelang, Central Java — Special Staff to the Minister of Cooperatives for the Productive Economy and Creative Cooperative Enterprises, Ambar Pertiwiningrum, has stated that the establishment of Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP) will not kill off small businesses or traditional shops in villages.

According to her, the cooperatives are instead designed to strengthen capital access and promote the development of productive village economies.

“The KDMP will not kill off small businesses, will not kill off small shops. In fact, small shops belonging to residents holding identity cards from that village will become cooperative members,” she said after inspecting the Pancuranmas KDMP in Secang District, Magelang Regency, on Tuesday.

She explained that the formation of the KDMP has been coordinated at the central government level. A task force has been established involving several relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture.

She noted that this cross-ministerial involvement is intended to ensure all aspects, including licensing and support for the agricultural sector and spatial planning, proceed in accordance with regulations.

Ambar said small shops and micro-enterprise operators in villages would in fact become an important part of the KDMP’s development. By becoming cooperative members, they can access various facilities, including capital support.

“Later, if small shops need capital to develop their businesses, the requirement is simply to become a cooperative member. Within the cooperative there is a savings-and-loan unit specifically intended to develop the productive economy,” she said.

She added that the savings-and-loan unit is expected to serve as a financing instrument that is easily accessible to village communities, so that small business operators no longer face difficulties obtaining additional capital to expand their enterprises.

“Under this scheme, the KDMP is projected to serve as a vehicle for strengthening the village economy on a membership basis, not as a competitor to existing small businesses. The government emphasises that the core principle of cooperatives is mutual aid and member empowerment, including small shops in villages,” she said.