goodmorningpapua.com – The growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Papua continues to be driven through various efforts. One of them is through the Gerakan Nasional Bangga Buatan Indonesia (Gernas BBI) which will be held at the Cenderawasih Sports Building, Papua on August 24.
“We hope that the benefits of the Gernas BBI event held in this good month (independence month) will not only be present but will continue to consistently provide benefits for the growth of MSMEs in Papua,” said Juli Budi Winantya, Head of Representative of Bank Indonesia (BI) Papua Province. in a virtual discussion entitled Proud to be Made in Indonesia, Stretching Papuan SMEs held by FMB9, Thursday (18/8/2022).
Juli admitted that from a number of Gernas BBI activities that he had participated in, they always provided many benefits for the growth and development of MSMEs. “As we follow in Sulawesi, there is a proper business, then the increase in exports, sales seem to increase. We hope that this will also happen in Papua in the future,” he said.
According to Juli, the potential of Papua is very large, for example coffee, which is a leading commodity there is already worldwide, has a certain taste because it is grown at 2,000 meters above sea level. Apart from that, there are also other handicrafts, then there is the potential for the fisheries sector. To support the growth and development of MSMEs, he continued, BI representatives from Papua have an MSME Onboarding program. In the program there is education, facilitation and motivational. BI Papua provides training and assistance.
“Regarding literacy, BI routinely holds training and mentoring every year, this year we invite around 50 MSMEs, we teach theory, practice, then after that there is a mentoring process on how they can get digital literacy to sell online,” he said. BI Papua also routinely conducts showcasing, assisted MSMEs are brought to the exhibition at Gernas BBI in Sulawesi, as well as at the national level, coaching is carried out including showcasing contributions. “We are also looking for markets not only domestic but also overseas.
Incidentally, we have a fostered office outside, in Boston to explore overseas markets,” he said. The increasing growth of MSMEs in Papua, added Juli, can be seen from the distribution of credit. Of the total loans disbursed, almost 32 percent were MSME loans. From there, 71 percent is for working capital and the rest is for investment. Then, if you look at the growth of MSME credit until June, it grew by more than 15 percent, mainly channeled to the trade, agriculture and fisheries sectors or the leading sectors.
The figure of 15 percent is progressive for after the pandemic, because of Papua’s growth compared to the national one is much higher 14.38 percent in the second quarter, more than the national economic growth of 5.44 percent. BI also encourages MSME players to use a formal payment system, taking advantage of the innovations that have been developed by BI.
By using SIAPIK, a digital financial recording application, MSMEs’ access to formal financing is easier. The trend of using the QRIS application in Papua is also increasing and very accelerating. “It has been recorded that 118 thousand sellers throughout the province of Papua have used it. The consensus is that it is still in Jayapura, we are developing it in other areas, 51,000 users or users. We hope the trend will increase,” he concluded.