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Secretary of the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Businesses Ministry, Arif Rahman Hakim. (ANTARA/HO-Humas Kemenkop) - 

The Cooperatives and Small and Medium Businesses Ministry has said it is aiming to boost the contribution of cooperatives to the national gross domestic product (GDP) to 5.5 percent by 2024.

This would be in accordance with the target set in the medium-term national development plan (RPJMN) 2020-2024, the ministry's secretary, Arif Rahman Hakim, said at a webinar on Creating Member-Based Cooperatives Ecosystem toward Modern Cooperatives, originating from Jakarta on Saturday.

The contribution of cooperatives to the GDP currently stands at 5.1 percent, he informed at the webinar, which was held to mark Cooperatives Day.

"The contribution of cooperatives to the GDP is expected to increase to 5.5 percent and the development of modern cooperatives (is seen) to reach 500 at the end of 2024," he disclosed.

The contribution of cooperatives to the GDP is still low since cooperatives have not fully become the main pillar of the public economic institution, he said.

Cooperatives have big potential to promote public economy and welfare, he added.

In addition to promoting the economy of their members, cooperatives are also expected to serve as social and educational institutions for their members and community, Hakim said.

Not just the contribution of cooperatives to the GDP, but public participation in cooperatives is also low, he said.

The country's participation rate in cooperatives currently stands at 8.41 percent, well below the global average of 16.31 percent, he highlighted.

"Of course, this poses a challenge for us. There are still many rooms (much scope) in which we can participate to promote cooperatives," he said.

The Cooperatives and Small and Medium Businesses Ministry has adopted four strategies to boost capacity, outreach, and innovation among cooperatives, he informed.

The strategies will also serve as a way to realize the President's directives to upgrade small and medium businesses and modernize cooperatives, he said.

The four strategies involve modernization of cooperatives, informal to formal transformation, digital transformation and information technology use, and transformation in the global value chain, he elaborated//ANT