VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said the establishment of the Micro Waqf Bank aims to provide opportunities for low-income people to conduct business, since they often have limited capital or access to banking.

The Micro Waqf Bank was established to provide access to capital for low-income people who do not have access to established financial institutions, as well as to play a role in empowering communities located near Islamic boarding schools by providing assistance," said the vice president during the National Conference on Vocational and Entrepreneurship at Cipasung Islamic Boarding School, here on Tuesday.

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said the opportunity to start businesses among low-income people, and especially the opportunity to obtain venture capital, had been a concern of the government.

Besides business capital, people who have just begun operating a business also need assistance in running their business and access to marketing for their products.

"Therefore, it has been the role of OJK (Financial Services Authority) since 2017 to continue to encourage the development of Micro Waqf Banks in Islamic boarding schools," he added.

So far, numerous Islamic boarding schools spread across various regions have seen the opening of 60 Micro Waqf Banks.

The vice president expected the number of Micro Waqf Banks to continue to increase, to assist even more new entrepreneurs in the community.

"With the distribution of funds of up to IDR67 billion to 44,900 customers and 4,780 Community Business Groups around Indonesian Islamic boarding schools, (Micro Waqf Bank) is expected to increase the number of new entrepreneurs who will encourage economic activity at the lower level," he noted.

The government continues to support the acceleration of the development of Micro Waqf Banks. Therefore, the vice president asked those working in the relevant ministries and institutions to draw up a plan to optimize the use of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) or the Government's Revolving Fund.

The optimization program includes participation by the Revolving Fund Management Agency for Cooperatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (LPDB UMKM); Ultra Micro Financing; and the Government Investment Center Public Service Agency (BLU-PIP).

"With these optimization efforts, we hope the Micro Waqf Bank can be formed soon and will be stronger in the future," said the vice president. (Antaranews)