Presiden Jokowi Tekankan Pentingnya UMKM di Tanah Air
President Jokowi Emphasizes the Importance of MSMEs in the Country
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
Jakarta [B2B] - Presiden RI Joko Widodo (Jokowi) menekankan pentingnya sektor usaha mikro, kecil, dan menengah (UMKM) dalam menggerakkan perekonomian Indonesia.
Hal ini disampaikan Jokowi dalam membuka BRI Microfinance Outlook 2024, di Menara BRILiaN, Jakarta, Kamis (07/03).
UMKM yang berjumlah kurang lebih 65 juta berkontribusi sebesar 61 persen terhadap produk domestik bruto (PDB) nasional dan menyerap tenaga kerja sebesar 97 persen.
“Kontribusi terhadap PDB ekonomi kita 61 persen, sangat besar sekali dan penyerapan tenaga kerja di sektor UMKM 97 persen, sebuah angka yang juga sangat besar sekali. Oleh sebab itu, kalau kita memberikan perhatian khusus kepada UMKM itu tidak salah,” ujar Jokowi.
Jokowi pun mengapresiasi langkah BRI dalam mengembangkan layanan perbankan digital hingga tingkat terbawah, dengan mengelola sekitar 740 ribu agen BRILink dengan transaksi tahunan mencapai Rp1.400 triliun. Hal ini dinilai dapat memudahkan akses keuangan bagi pelaku UMKM sekaligus mengurangi dominasi rentenir dan memperkuat sektor keuangan mikro.
"Ngurusi urusan yang kecil-kecil yang sebelumnya itu diurusi oleh rentenir-rentenir, dari diurusi oleh Bank titil di mana-mana, sekarang diambil alih oleh BRI, ini juga yang harus kita apresiasi," ujarnya.
Lebih lanjut, Jokowi menyinggung tentang bantuan pemerintah dalam bentuk subsidi untuk kredit usaha rakyat (KUR) sebesar Rp46 triliun, yang bertujuan menurunkan suku bunga bagi usaha mikro dan kecil. Presiden juga menyoroti pertumbuhan signifikan dalam program pembiayaan mikro, seperti holding Unit Mikro (UMi) BRI dan Permodalan Nasional Madani Membina Ekonomi Keluarga Sejahtera (PNM Mekaar), dengan peningkatan jumlah nasabah yang signifikan.
“Tadi di UMi nasabahnya 8,2 [juta], PNM Mekaar nasabahnya sudah 15,2 juta. Saya ingat, PNM Mekaar di tahun 2015 itu nasabahnya baru 400 ribu kurang lebih, sekarang sudah sampai 15,2 juta. Grameen Bank, Bapak Muhammad Yunus itu dapat Nobel karena Grameen Bank memiliki nasabah 6,5 juta. Ini harusnya Pak Dirut, Pak Sunarso, ini sudah diberi Nobel harusnya,” kata Presiden.
Selain itu, Jokowi juga mengapresiasi peningkatan kualitas produk UMKM, termasuk peningkatan kemasan dan penjenamaan (branding), sebagai faktor penting dalam memperkuat daya saing dan kemampuan ekspor UMKM Indonesia. Presiden pun memberikan beberapa contoh sukses UMKM, antara lain produk kerupuk rajungan “Mama Muda” dan sambal bawang “Lontara”, yang telah berhasil menembus pasar ekspor.
“Ini usaha kecil, usaha rumah tangga, kreditnya Rp5 juta tapi bisa mengemas seperti ini, ini luar biasa. Inilah yang harus terus kita dorong. Bank mendorong, pemerintah mendorong, ini akan memperkuat daya saing kita kalau ini bisa masuk ke ekspor. Ini sudah ekspor ke Brunei dan ke Malaysia, dan kreditnya baru Rp5 juta di PNM Mekaar,” ujarnya.
Mengakhiri sambutannya, Jokowi menekankan pentingnya dukungan terus-menerus dari sektor perbankan dan pemerintah untuk meningkatkan daya saing UMKM, yang akan memperkuat ekonomi nasional dan menciptakan lebih banyak lapangan kerja. Menurutnya, acara BRI Microfinance Outlook bisa berperan sebagai platform penting untuk menentukan strategi dan arah pengembangan UMKM Indonesia di masa depan.
"Saya sangat menghargai diadakannya acara BRI Microfinance Outlook di setiap tahunnya. Ini kita bisa mendapatkan arah mana, strategi apa yang harus kita bangun agar UMKM kita betul-betul bisa berdaya saing, bisa berkompetisi dengan negara-negara lain," tandasnya.
Jakarta [B2B] - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) emphasized the importance of the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector in driving the Indonesian economy.
This was conveyed by Jokowi when opening the BRI Microfinance Outlook 2024, at the BRILiaN Tower, Jakarta, Thursday (07/03).
MSMEs, numbering approximately 65 million, contribute 61 percent to the national gross domestic product (GDP) and absorb 97 percent of the workforce.
"The contribution to our economic GDP is 61 percent, which is very large and employment in the MSME sector is 97 percent, a figure which is also very large. "Therefore, if we pay special attention to MSMEs, it is not wrong," said Jokowi.
Jokowi also appreciated BRI's steps in developing digital banking services to the lowest level, by managing around 740 thousand BRILink agents with annual transactions reaching IDR 1,400 trillion. This is considered to be able to facilitate financial access for MSME players while reducing the dominance of loan sharks and strengthening the microfinance sector.
"Taking care of small matters which were previously handled by loan sharks, from being handled by Titil Banks everywhere, is now being taken over by BRI, this is also what we must appreciate," he said.
Furthermore, Jokowi mentioned government assistance in the form of subsidies for people's business credit (KUR) amounting to IDR 46 trillion, which aims to reduce interest rates for micro and small businesses. The President also highlighted the significant growth in micro financing programs, such as the BRI Micro Unit holding (UMi) and Madani National Capital for Prosperous Family Economy Development (PNM Mekaar), with a significant increase in the number of customers.
"Earlier at UMi there were 8.2 [million] customers, PNM Mekaar had 15.2 million customers. I remember, in 2015 PNM Mekaar only had approximately 400 thousand customers, now it has reached 15.2 million. Grameen Bank, Mr Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel because Grameen Bank has 6.5 million customers. "This should be Mr. President Director, Mr. Sunarso, this should have been awarded the Nobel," said the President.
Apart from that, Jokowi also appreciated improving the quality of MSME products, including improving packaging and branding, as an important factor in strengthening the competitiveness and export capabilities of Indonesian MSMEs. The President also gave several examples of successful MSMEs, including "Mama Muda" crab cracker products and "Lontara" onion chili sauce, which have succeeded in penetrating the export market.
"This is a small business, a household business, the credit is IDR 5 million but it can be packaged like this, this is extraordinary. This is what we must continue to push for. The bank is encouraging, the government is encouraging, this will strengthen our competitiveness if this can go into exports. "This has been exported to Brunei and Malaysia, and the credit is only IDR 5 million at PNM Mekaar," he said.
Concluding his remarks, Jokowi emphasized the importance of continuous support from the banking sector and government to increase the competitiveness of MSMEs, which will strengthen the national economy and create more jobs. According to him, the BRI Microfinance Outlook event can act as an important platform for determining the strategy and direction of development of Indonesian MSMEs in the future.
"I really appreciate the holding of the BRI Microfinance Outlook event every year. In this way we can find out what direction, what strategies we have to develop so that our MSMEs can truly be competitive, can compete with other countries," he said.
