Jakarta,
March 8 (Antara) - Indonesia's small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs),
which constitute the main pillar of the country's economy, need to be
prepared to compete in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) next year.
SMEs, which are made up of private sector businesses, have proven to be
resilient in the face of the global economic crisis. Indonesia's
economy is built on three main pillars, namely state-owned enterprises,
cooperatives and private corporations.
Yet, in the era of economic crisis, SMEs have proven they can survive
and serve as a real pillar for the country's economy. Therefore, this
sector must be prepared to face the AEC, which will begin operating in
2015.
"Like it or not, we are facing the AEC in 2015. This means free trade
will also be implemented in Indonesia. If we are not ready, we will be
eroded by the free trade system," Airlangga Hartarto, the chairman of
the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VI on trade,
cooperatives and small business affairs, said on Friday.
The legislator was speaking at a Business Capacity Building (PKU)
training session in Cibinong, Bogor District, West Java.
According to the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-and-Medium
Enterprises, as stated on its official website, there are now about 58
million SMEs in Indonesia. They are currently being formed and assisted,
hoping that they are able to participate in a global business
environment, or 'go international', in the coming four years.
Other
data showed that in 2011, SMEs, whose numbers at that time reached 51
million, provided employment for about 90 million, or about 97 percent
of the total workforce. Officials note that they contribute about 53
percent of the income recorded to the nation¿s Gross Domestic Product
(GNP).
Seeing
the contribution of SMEs to the country's economy, the Ministry of
Cooperatives and SMEs hoped that small businesses would develop and
perform globally in the next few years.
In
order to achieve these goals, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SME has
supported the development of small businesses through Integrated
Business Service Centers (PLUT), built in 22 locations across the
country.
The PLUT centers develop businesses to create their sense of
entrepreneurship, spur production, raise competitiveness, increase
performance and cut business operational costs.
Two
of these centers have been operating, while the others will be opened
later. The Ministry of Cooperatives and SME is optimistic that the
centers will result in the significant development of small businesses
in the country.
Deputy
for cooperatives affairs of the ministry, Braman Setyo, who is
responsible for the PLUT program said that with the large number of PLUT
centers, it is not impossible for small and medium sized businesses to
compete internationally in the coming four years.
"What I mean by 'go international' is that Indonesia's small business
can compete, at least at the ASEAN level. After all, the number of SMEs
now reaches 56.5 million," he said.
The ministry's efforts to lay down a solid foundation for the
development of small businesses are in keeping with the expectation of
the DPR's Commission VI on cooperatives and small business development
affairs, Airlangga Hartarto.
Businesses should have a solid foundation in the sense that they are
strong, with regard to capital, provide quality business services and
are able to maintain business continuity.
He said that the government should have realistic programs that can
ignite the engines of small businesses. "The programs should include how
to increase their capital, provide business guidance and market share,"
Airlangga said.
He added that the presence of PT PNM company, in providing business
capital and business counseling, among other types of assistance, such
as business management, packing system and market access, represents one
of the government's efforts to boost the development of SMEs in the
country.
"What we want to emphasize here is that the House will support the
people in their business with easily attainable accommodations and good
price prospects, so that the SME sector will be victorious," he said.
In this regard, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SME is developing the PLUT programs to help small businesses.
"This
PLUT center, seeking to assist the development of small businesses, is
one of the 22 PLUT buildings being developed in Indonesia. Sukabumi has
been selected as one of the places for PLUT because it has a large
business potential," Minister for Cooperatives and SMEs Sjarifudin
Hasan said when inaugurating a Rp3 billion PLUT center in Sukabumi, West
Java, late last month.
Sukabumi has 1,827 cooperatives and 27 thousand small businesses, according to data from the local government.
The minister said that the development of PLUT was one of the
integrated programs conducted between the central government and the
regional administrations in the cooperative and small business sector,
meant to provide safe locations and market access for street vendors and
small entrepreneurs to conduct business.
Deputy for cooperatives and business development affairs of the
Ministry of Cooperatives and SME, Braman Setyo, said his ministry built
21 PLUT centers in 16 provinces in 2013.
Regarding the development of cooperatives, Braman said cooperatives
continue to grow each year, with a growth rate of about 5 to 6 percent.
Based on data from August 2013, the number of cooperatives in Indonesia
reached 200,808.
Further, the number of small and medium sized businesses throughout the
country during the same period was recorded at 56.5 million. "This will
contribute 94 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Combined
with cooperatives, SMEs could provide jobs for 110 million workers,"
noted Braman Setyo.
He also expressed his conviction that the presence of the integrated
business service centers will spur the development of small scale
businesses and cooperatives, and increase their capacity and
competitiveness in the face of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation
(ASEAN)'s Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.***2***
(T.A014/INE)
(T.A014/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 08-03-2014 15:01 |
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