Jakarta – The government continues to drive the expansion of exports for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as part of efforts to widen their market reach and improve their global competitiveness. This initiative is crucial given the role of MSMEs as the backbone of Indonesia’s economy, contributing over 60% to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and absorbing nearly 97% of the workforce. Currently, the number of MSMEs in Indonesia exceeds 64 million businesses.
MSMEs contribute approximately 15.7% to Indonesia’s total national exports. The government is committed to increasing this percentage this year to support the target of 9% export growth over the next five years.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, emphasized the tangible steps the government has taken to support MSMEs, including the policy of debt cancellation and write-offs within the first 100 days of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.
“Under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto, one of the initiatives taken in the first 100 days was debt cancellation and write-offs as a form of support for MSMEs, and from the monitoring, the largest amount of write-offs were from Bank BRI. This is certainly an achievement and a government commitment to the people,” he said.
Furthermore, Minister Airlangga stated that the government will provide interest subsidies of up to 5% for investment loans taken by MSMEs in labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, garments, footwear, food and beverages, and furniture. This step is expected to boost MSME production capacity for exports.
As part of the strategy to increase MSME exports, the government has formed a National Export Enhancement Task Force, supported Ultra Micro (UMi) financing, People’s Business Credit (KUR), as well as the PNM Mekaar and PNM Ulaam programs. Additionally, the Export-Import Financing Agency (LPEI) is tasked with providing working capital specifically for exports and facilitating guarantees and insurance for MSME players.
The government also offers the Export Purpose Import Facility (KITE), which includes exemptions from Value Added Tax (VAT) and import VAT for export-oriented MSMEs. Additionally, empowering intangible assets such as land certificates, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) certification, and halal certification is part of the effort to improve MSME access to formal financial services.
The Proudly Made in Indonesia (BBI) program, PaDi MSMEs, and the National Online Shopping Day (Harbolnas) are continuously promoted as strategies to increase domestic demand for MSME products. These programs will be emphasized ahead of Eid al-Fitr to significantly boost MSME growth.
“I hope MSMEs can grow, and from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs’ office, we will continue to provide coaching so that MSMEs can level up. Every year, we expect at least 20 MSMEs to graduate into strong medium-sized businesses,” concluded Minister Airlangga.
