VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Deputy IV (Four) of the President's Staff Office, Juri Ardiantoro stated that the government continues to encourage collaborative efforts by various parties to drive the economic sector, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)which are currently affected by Covid-19 pandemic. He also underlined that the key to emerging from the difficulties faced together is being discipline and mutual cooperation among the government, the private sectors and SMEs. He was speaking when opening a virtual webinar on Program Implementation for MSMEs in the Framework of National Economic Recovery in Jakarta on Friday (10/7).

Juri Ardiantoro further stated that the government has the same spirit as the SMEs. Thereby, it provides various facilities, schemes and incentives to restore the economic sector. He also explained that in handling the various impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has implemented policies that focus on the not only health sector, but also immediate economic recovery. Moreover, people can get food, including schemes such as the Social Safety Net (JPS).

On the same occasion, Director General of Small and Medium Industries of the Ministry of Industry, Gati Wibawaningsih explained that Small and Medium Industries areable to absorb 10.5 million workers, while the large ones can only employ 5.9 million people. According to Gati, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Small and Medium Industries must work closely with local governments to identify quickly, efficiently and effectively products that consumers need, as well as how the risks and market opportunities are.

The Ministry of Industry also supports the use of technology for Small and Medium Industries in a bid to overcome marketing constraints, especially amid this pandemic. The government as the Patron of Small and Medium Industries has provided digital training since 2017. In addition, e-learning has been conducted since 2018. After the theoretical training, various technical training videos are made so that the economy can really move again.

The government also encourages the National Movement “Proud of the Indonesian Products”. The Ministry of Industry is cooperating with one of the marketplaces so that local product sales data can be known. Meanwhile, Deputy Human Resources Development of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Arif Rahman Hakim said that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises becomes a mainstay in accelerating national economic recovery. In 2018 for instance, around 117 million workforces were absorbed through the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises -MSMEs.