VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo launched the productive presidential assistance (banpres) program  for micro businesses at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday (24/8). This assistance is aimed at providing additional working capital for micro and small entrepreneurs in Indonesia. The target is that there are 12 million micro and small businesses that will receive the assistance worth Rp 2.4 million. Handing over the assistance symbolically, President Joko Widodo emphasized that the assistance provided is a grant.

The criteria to receive this productive assistance are micro and small businesses, banking customers or financial institutions with deposits below Rp 2 million. Another criterion is that they do not have credit in banks or other financial institutions. For them, this productive program is certainly a refreshing injection, and it is hoped that it can make them stronger in doing their businesses.

Facts reveal that since Covid-19 hit Indonesia, micro and small businesses in Indonesia have become one of the forefronts affected by the impact. Large-Scale Social Restrictions –PSSB causes the income they get to be increasingly limited. Of the approximately 63 million micro and small enterprises, it is estimated that 50 percent would be directly affected. The steps taken by the government are expected to increase the capital of micro and small businesses so that they rise from the impact.

The micro and small entrepreneurs are indeed the first to be saved so that they can revive much strongly to support the Indonesian economy. Lookingback two decades ago, when Indonesia faced economic crises in 1998 and 2008, The micro and small entrepreneurs actually became one of the sectors that supported and contributed to the stability of the Indonesian economy.

The revival of the micro and small entrepreneurs cannot rely only on the government. The involvement of other stakeholders is certainly needed, including e-commerce players or market places. They can provide technical guidance to the micro and small businesses by using technology to market their products. The hope is that their business products can dominate the marketplace to replace imported products. Of course, the most important thing is the business players. They must develop themselves and make innovations to respond to the challenges they are facing.

Hopefully, this productive presidential assistance will be the right vaccine for the micro and small businesses not only to rise from hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but to have a positive impact in the long term. (rhm)