Small and medium firms get 50 enterprise awards

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Forty small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from Java, Bali and Sulawesi won 50 enterprise awards on Thursday for their outstanding performance in the face of global economic obstacles.

"This award is expected to stimulate entrepreneurship among small and medium enterprises in the country so they will remain optimistic, innovative and creative," said Julianto, the country managing director of Accenture.

The awards were given in three categories, "small", "medium", and "up and rising" companies. The top-ranking company in the small-scale enterprise category was Unggul Pasopati, an education and human resources development company, while the top award in the medium scale enterprise went to PT Realta Chakradarma whose core business is information and technology, and the top spot in the "up and rising" category went to PT Sriagung Cahya Sakti (Izzi Pizza).

This year the 50 Enterprise Award was held by Accenture -- a business consultancy agency -- in cooperation with SWA magazine with the support of the Young Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI).

SMEs play a major role in boosting economic activities and eradicating poverty in Indonesia.

The House of Representatives approved in December 2003 Rp 3.1 trillion (US$365 million) in working capital for small and micro scale businesses in order to boost poverty eradication efforts.

By pushing SMEs growth, the government expects that it can create job opportunities and reduce the lingering poverty among 19 percent of the population to only 14 percent by the end of 2004.