VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Teten Masduki at the 2021 Dialogue of Entrepreneurial Innovation Competition Winners in Jakarta on Monday (December 27, 2021). (ANTARA/HO-Kemenkop) - 

Cooperation with South Korea is important for Indonesian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to compete globally, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Teten Masduki has said.

"Why? We (MSMEs) must begin to explore products based on creativity and technological innovation. South Korea is one of those (nations) that I think has very superior MSMEs that are included as a part of their national industrial supply chain," he highlighted at the 2021 Dialogue of Entrepreneurial Innovation Competition Winners on Monday.

The event was the result of collaborative efforts between the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry with the South Korea SMEs and Startups Ministry, he noted.

The cooperation built between Indonesia and South Korea will be beneficial for the development of MSMEs, especially for young entrepreneurs focusing on innovation, sustainability, and job creation, the minister said.

Indonesia has a wealth of potential natural and human resources and extraordinary, creative ideas, thus, it is not just a market country, he added.

The ministry is focusing on boosting the number of MSME players to reinforce the economic structure, he informed. To meet that end, it requires the development of innovation-driven enterprises that can become superior and sustainable high-growth enterprises, he said.

"We encourage business players to increase awareness of green economy that supports the Sustainable Development Goals with business principles—which implements the principles of people, profit, and planet," he added.

Masduki also said that his ministry is encouraging startups to support the development of MSMEs. Startups are expected to serve as a catalyst and motor for the advancement of national MSMEs, he remarked.

In addition, startups are expected to be aggregators or a bridge for micro-enterprises to help them advance further, he said.

To create impactful startups that push the national economy, the contribution of stakeholders is essential so that the startups can define the future of national MSMEs, Masduki added.

"I urge all stakeholders here to create an integrated ecosystem of upstream and downstream value chains on the economic scale," he said//ANT