Sragen launches zero-interest UMKM credit

Sragen Regency Government in Central Java launched a zero-interest micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs) credit programme via the Regional People’s Credit Scheme (KURDA) as an effort to broaden financing access for MSMEs. Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Maman Abdurrahman, at the inauguration of KURDA in Sragen on Tuesday, praised the initiative and viewed it as tangible evidence of the Sragen government’s commitment to financial inclusion and poverty alleviation. He said this interest-free financing scheme is expected to reach MSMEs that have not yet fully accessed formal financial services. ‘KURDA is also expected to be an important instrument to push MSMEs to move up a class,’ Maman said in a press statement. Nationally, he noted that the disbursement of the People’s Business Credit (KUR) had reached Rp105.8 trillion to 1.69 million KUR borrowers. Of that total, 1.14 million were new borrowers and around 511 thousand MSMEs had successfully transitioned upward. In Central Java, KUR disbursements reached Rp18.9 trillion to 348 thousand MSMEs, with 57.1 percent of them in the production sector. Minister Maman urged all MSMEs in Sragen to take advantage of the various programmes and facilities prepared by the government, through KUR, KURDA, and other programmes, as a means to strengthen businesses, expand markets, and raise the competitiveness of Indonesian MSME products.