Ambon – Perum Jamkrindo Ambon Branch, which is an extension of Jamkrindo Region IX, on Thursday (28/9) cooperated with the Deputy for Financing Affairs of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs of Indonesia and joined by the Maluku Provincial Government through the Department of Cooperatives and SMEs to conduct a socialization of the People’s Business Credit (KUR) program in order to accelerate the realization of KUR in Maluku Province.
This activity is part of a series of activities that have been previously carried out in several other provinces.
Assistant Deputy for Insurance Guarantee and Capital Market Affairs of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs of Indonesia, Willem Pasaribu, stated that in 2017 the government continues to show its support for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) to improve access to financing sources, because the target allocation for KUR distribution in 2017 has increased to Rp 110 Trillion, compared to Rp 100 Trillion in 2016.
Furthermore, to accelerate the KUR guarantee process, additional guarantee companies need to be added, whereas in 2015 there were two guarantee companies, namely Perum Jamkrindo and PT Askrindo.
Thus, accelerating KUR distribution can also be driven through the dissemination of information in the form of socialization of accelerated KUR distribution to all regions.
For that, the government, together with the KUR distributing banks—BRI, BNI, Mandiri, and Artha Graha—as well as guarantee companies and youth are conducting socialization activities in various regions so that information related to KUR can be more widely disseminated.
"Through the socialization of the KUR program in Maluku Province, it is hoped that KUR distribution can be accelerated and maximally utilized by business actors to develop their businesses," they hope.
That is why the socialization of the KUR program is carried out so that there is a good understanding, especially so that small communities understand how to apply for bank loans according to their business needs. Furthermore, it is stated that this year President Joko Widodo increased KUR from Rp 4.7 Trillion to Rp 5.0 Trillion.
By choosing Jamkrindo as the guarantor and through the banks that will distribute KUR assistance to the public, it is hoped that with this socialization the public will better understand and be ready to develop their businesses.
Meanwhile, Head of the Program Division of Perum Jamkrindo, Lusy Susanti, said that Jamkrindo is the only guarantee company for SMEs entrusted by the government. Thus, through the socialization of the KUR program, business actors gain understanding and can pass it on to others, so that SMEs can develop and grow to support communities that have businesses. Because we know that SMEs are the largest in Indonesia, including in Maluku.
Head of the Department of Cooperatives and SMEs of Maluku Province, Syarif Bakri Asyatri, said he gives very positive appreciation for the central government’s attention to Maluku in conducting the KUR program socialization for SMEs and recommended that this activity should not be focused only on Ambon City but also on the outermost and frontier areas such as Aru, MTB, and MBD.
According to him, based on data from the Department of Cooperatives and SMEs, the most developed cooperative is Union Cooperative because it has the largest number of customers in Ambon City, and for that reason his department has provided assistance up to now.