More Women Micro-Entrepreneurs Should Get Presidential Assistance Program in Indonesia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection stressed the importance of distributing Presidential Assistance for Micro-Entrepreneurs (BPUM) to more Indonesian women who run micro, small and medium enterprises in the country.

The ministry's spokesperson for Economic Affairs, Eni Widiyanti, said that the presidential assistance could boost the development of the country's small-medium enterprises and speed up the national economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

To support them, the ministry had provided data on women micro-entrepreneurs to become the BPUM recipients this year. "We have submitted data on women entrepreneurs who are registered in the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Office throughout Indonesia to propose for the working capital aid for micro-enterprises which was launched last year,” Eni said in a press statement on Sunday, May 9.

Also read: 12 Million Indonesian SMEs to Get Cash Assistance from Government Soon 

Eni said thousands of women entrepreneurs have proposed for the aforementioned aid.

At least, 3,756 women entrepreneurs were approved to be the recipients of the Presidential Assistance for Micro Enterprises.

"I hope they can make the most of the aid to increase the scale and improve their businesses," she said.

In addition, the ministry also proposed aid for women who have been affected by natural disasters and received training provided by the ministry. It is hoped that those who survived disasters can rise again and be economically independent through assistance.

In total, 7,655 names of women entrepreneurs were submitted, but only about 51 percent are deemed eligible to receive the assistance.

Also read: More Indonesian SMEs Poised to Gain Access to Social Assistance Programs

Based on data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from 2014-2018, it was recorded that 99 percent of the total economic business units were SMEs and 50 percent of the SMEs were owned by women. Meanwhile, based on the 2016 Economic Census, 9.4 million people were working in the creative economy sector with a ratio of 55 percent of women and 45 percent of men.

"Many women are engaged in three sectors, namely fashion, culinary, and crafts, so it is appropriate for more women to be the recipients of the Presidential Assistance for Micro Enterprises program," she said.

(Writer: Deti Mega Purnamasari | Editor: Dani Prabowo)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/05/09/11215251/kemen-pppa-usul-agar-perempuan-lebih-banyak-terima-bantuan-presiden-usaha?page=all#page2.