Pertamina Foundation Seeks to Help MSMEs Move Up the Value Chain
BEKASI — Strengthening micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) requires more than training. Ongoing mentoring, access to finance and broader markets are important if businesses are to scale up and create new sources of income for communities.
Pertamina Foundation Operations Director Gusman Adiwardhana said Pertamina continues to support MSME development through various empowerment programmes. One such initiative is Pertamina SMEXPO 2026 Regional Bekasi, involving 50 MSMEs.
According to Gusman, MSMEs still face three main challenges to growth: financing, market access and product quality. These issues are the focus of the mentoring programme run by Pertamina Foundation to help businesses improve their competitiveness and expand their reach.
“This is where Pertamina Foundation seeks to ensure that its MSME development programmes address those three issues. We hope the MSMEs receiving development support and mentoring can grow to the point where they enter global markets,” Gusman said.
He said Pertamina Foundation’s empowerment programmes now reach its business partners and local heroes in 28 provinces across Indonesia. The approach goes beyond training, providing mentoring to help entrepreneurs develop their potential and build independent businesses.
Gusman said strengthening MSMEs is strategically important to the national economy. With nearly 65 million businesses, MSMEs contribute around 61 per cent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP). Their substantial contribution shows the important role they play in driving economic activity in communities.
Pertamina Foundation is therefore seeking to provide marketing platforms that connect products from its partner businesses with consumers. Pertamina SMEXPO is one way to expand business networks, increase transactions and create opportunities for MSMEs to reach larger markets.
The effectiveness of these efforts is reflected in transaction figures from regional SMEXPO events. Gusman said sales at SMEXPO, which had previously ranged from Rp2.5 billion to Rp2.6 billion, rose to Rp3.8 billion at the three-day SMEXPO Regional Yogyakarta 2026.
According to event data, that was a 52 per cent increase on SMEXPO Regional Yogyakarta 2025, which recorded sales of Rp2.5 billion. The 2024 Yogyakarta event generated Rp2.6 billion, while Jakarta’s 2025 event recorded Rp2.6 billion.
Gusman said the increase in transactions was one indicator that wider marketing access can help partner businesses grow. As markets open up, MSMEs have more opportunities to increase sales and expand their operations.
Alongside market development, Pertamina Foundation is encouraging MSMEs to improve product quality so they can compete nationally and internationally. Some partner businesses have already made progress, taking their products into export markets.
By involving 50 MSMEs in SMEXPO Regional Bekasi 2026, Pertamina hopes to give more businesses the opportunity to develop. The effort is expected not only to increase MSME incomes, but also to create new sources of economic activity, strengthen communities’ self-reliance and establish MSMEs as drivers of the national economy.