Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has reaffirmed his commitment to the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by presenting strategic policies that favor this sector. One concrete step is the ratification of Government Regulation (PP) Number 47 of 2024 concerning the Elimination of Bad Debts for MSMEs, which is expected to ease the burden on micro business actors and increase their competitiveness amidst economic challenges.
Through this policy, the government has determined that bad debts of MSMEs that meet certain criteria will be written off no later than April 2025. The Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Maman Abdurrahman, stated that this step was taken to help business actors who have a maximum total debt of IDR 300 million for individuals and IDR 500 million for institutions, including loan interest.
“If ordered by the PP made by Mr. Prabowo, we must immediately complete it within six months,” said Maman Abdurrahman.
In addition to the debt cancellation policy, the government has also launched a number of programs to encourage the empowerment of MSMEs. One of the main initiatives is the launch of business cards which are divided into two types, namely Affirmative Business Cards for the poor and vulnerable, and Productive Business Cards for medium-sized business actors. This program provides access to capital, training, and assistance in processing certification and permits, which are integrated with the digital platform “Sapa UMKM.”
“This program not only provides access to capital, but also supports the business legalization process and training tailored to the needs of each business actor. This will facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of various MSME support programs,” said Maman.
Other criteria include business actors affected by natural disasters. President Prabowo said that this policy was born after hearing many aspirations from farmer groups, fishermen, and MSME actors. “PP Number 47 of 2024 concerning the Elimination of Bad Debts will help farmer groups, fishermen and MSME actors,” said Prabowo.
President Director of PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), Arief Mulyadi, welcomed the policy and stated that he was ready to support the data collection and empowerment of MSMEs through ongoing assistance. “We currently have active data on 15.2 million ultra-micro businesses, and if accumulated, the number of customers we have served is 21.2 million customers,” explained Arief Mulyadi.
These steps are expected to strengthen the MSME sector as the backbone of the national economy, while also providing a positive impact on equalizing community welfare.
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