REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Micro-, small and medium enterprises (SME) in Indonesia, had been the nation`s largest provider of jobs, according to former president, BJ Habibie. "Businesses that provide the most job opportunities are small and micro-businesses, and if medium businesses are included, the job opportunities they have provided may reach 99 percent," he said at the anniversary commemoration of PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) on Saturday.
He further said that SME were the correct models for the country`s younger generation to start businesses and create jobs, in line with increasing economic growth. He added that the job opportunities provided by micro-businesses create 88.92 percent of the nation`s jobs, while medium-sized businesses provide 10.54 percent and big businesses, such as mining, oil and gas, provide only 0.54 percent of the nation`s jobs.
Even the added value from the micro-and small businesses was only 1.48 percent shy of that of big businesses, he added. "The added value produced by small and medium businesses (UKM) in the national economy is 43.42 percent, while that of big businesses is 44.90 percent. This shows that the added value contributed by SME is not smaller than that of big businesses," he said.
The government has set up PT PNM to provided financing assistance for people wishing to start a business. The businesses focused for development by the state-owned company are those operating in food, agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry and household industries.
PT PNM has 22 branches, five assisting branches, 76 cluster offices, 477 units offering macro-capital services, and employs 4,300 workers.Through its macro-capital service units, PT PNM reaches 2,247 sub-districts, 248 districts, and 26 provinces in the country. In October it plans to issue bonds worth 500 billion IDR. Its president director, Parman Nataatmadja, said he would continue seeking financing sources to expand to other regions.
"In the near future we will set up new units so that more UMKs can be served. We will also seek capital through the capital market," he said. Besides extending financing services to SME, PT PNM also provides counseling and training to its clients through business building programs.
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