Trade Ministry boosts MSME contribution to national exports

The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) continues to strengthen various mentoring programmes for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) so they can contribute more significantly to national exports while becoming competitive exporters in the global market. Director General of National Export Development (Dirjen PEN) at the Ministry of Trade, Fajarini Puntodewi, stated that MSMEs are one of the government’s main focuses in national export development. Therefore, the Ministry of Trade runs various programmes covering business capacity building, provision of market information, market access facilitation, and promotion in international markets. “MSMEs are one of the main focuses in national export development,” said Puntodewi. Puntodewi explained that in the initial stage, the Ministry of Trade provides mentoring through the Export Coaching Programme (ECP), training, workshops, and export clinics. The programme aims to improve business actors’ understanding of export procedures, destination country requirements, international marketing strategies, and the preparation of export documents. In addition to enhancing business capacity, the Ministry of Trade also provides market information and business intelligence covering market studies, product trends, export opportunities, as well as regulations and technical requirements in destination countries. This information is expected to serve as a basis for MSMEs in formulating more targeted export strategies.