Ministry of UMKM Prepares Free Halal Certification for 500,000 MSMEs

The Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is preparing to facilitate free halal certification for around 500,000 MSME players as part of an effort to assist in meeting the halal certification obligation by October 2026.

Speaking at the opening of the 2026 National Entrepreneurship Festival in Jakarta on Saturday, the Minister of MSMEs, Maman Abdur Esman, stated that the programme is being prepared in collaboration with the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) to expand access to halal certification for business owners.

Maman noted that the government continues to strengthen various empowerment programmes to increase the competitiveness of MSMEs, including through easier access to business legality, financing, training, and product certification.

He assessed that possessing halal certification is a crucial factor in increasing consumer confidence and expanding market access for MSME players.

In addition to the halal certification programme, the Ministry of MSMEs is also continuing to strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem to support the utilisation of Indonesia’s demographic bonus.

Maman mentioned that currently, approximately 68 per cent of Indonesia’s population is of productive age out of a total population of more than 287 million people.

According to him, this condition presents a significant opportunity to produce more productive and competitive entrepreneurs.

He stated that the government targets the national entrepreneurship ratio to reach 3.20 per cent by 2026 and increase to 3.60 per cent by 2029.

“The spirit of the Ministry of MSMEs is to ensure that every business owner can grow and develop through various programmes and services provided by the government,” he said.

To support this target, Maman mentioned that the Ministry of MSMEs is also developing the ‘Sapa UMKM’ application, designed as an integrated service platform for business actors, aimed at reaching approximately 57 million MSMEs in Indonesia.

Through this platform, he noted that MSME players can access various services such as financing, certification, business licensing, training, and business development information.

Furthermore, the government is also partnering with 754 business incubator institutions spread across various regions of Indonesia to provide mentoring to prospective entrepreneurs, beginner entrepreneurs, startups, and MSME players.