Jakarta | As of 2013, Micro and Small Enterprises (UMK) in Indonesia were recorded at approximately 57 million, with a wide variety of business types, including fisheries, agriculture, plantations, service industries and crafts, transportation, and many more. UMK needs to be nurtured, guided, and encouraged to enhance their businesses and competitiveness. The competitiveness of UMK can be reflected in increased added value, business productivity, and job absorption.
In general, the internal problems faced by UMK include (1) limited access to financing sources, (2) weak business networks and market penetration capabilities, and (3) limited business facilities and infrastructure. All these issues stem from the limited human resources within UMK. To ensure that UMK becomes competitive and of high quality, it is necessary to map the condition of UMK, provide assistance, strengthen businesses to enhance competitiveness, and establish a communication medium between the Central Government, financial institutions, and other stakeholders with business actors at both central and regional levels.
The Temu Mitra event, held at the Convention Hall of the Smesco Building, SME Tower, Jl. Jenderal Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, aims to elevate micro businesses to small businesses, and small businesses to medium enterprises. The goal is to upgrade 200,000 UMK by the end of 2015 and achieve one million (1,000,000) upgraded UMK by 2019.
The event was attended by 750 UMKM participants, consisting of partners fostered by the Provincial Cooperatives and UMKM Offices, banks, the Business Development Services (BDS) Association, Integrated Business Service Center (PLUT) managers, UI Business Incubators, Apindo, Hipmikindo, Kadin, and Jamkrindo, to continuously support UMK in advancing to the next level.
Additionally, this event serves as a platform to communicate and share information on policies between the Central and Regional Governments, financial institutions, and stakeholders with UMK business actors. This aims to ensure that the effort to upgrade UMK is achieved both in quality and quantity, producing highly competitive UMK. The UMK upgrading partner meetings have previously been held in Semarang, Surabaya, and Makassar.
Law No. 20 of 2008 on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) defines the criteria for Micro Enterprises as having assets of up to Rp. 50 million and a maximum turnover of Rp. 300 million; Small Enterprises as having assets of Rp. 50 million to Rp. 500 million and a turnover of Rp. 300 million to Rp. 2.5 billion; and Medium Enterprises as having assets of Rp. 500 million to Rp. 10 billion and a turnover of Rp. 2.5 billion to Rp. 50 billion. This means that UMK needs to increase their assets and turnover to move up the classification. The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs must encourage UMK to grow, and the ASEAN Economic Community (MEA) should be seen as a challenge for UMK.
This Temu Mitra event also introduced business mentors who are committed to realizing the movement to upgrade one million UMKM. The role of mentors is crucial in the success of UMK upgrades, as they are expected to serve as motivators. Additionally, UMK must also have the drive to advance. UMK mentors are expected to provide business consultations, such as assisting UMK in promoting their flagship products at the Integrated Business Service Center (PLUT) KUMKM, helping them access financing from banking institutions such as People's Business Credit (KUR), venture capital, state-owned enterprise PKBL funds, and other institutions, as well as improving UMK quality through business training, managerial skills, and expanding UMK marketing networks.
Achieving UMK upgrades cannot be done by a single institution alone but requires synergy among all stakeholders, including banks, mentors, and other parties, who must collectively commit to supporting UMK advancement.