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B20 Trade & Investment Task Force: MSME empowerment key to global economic recovery
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President Director of PT HM Sampoerna Tbk. Vassilis Gkatzelis speaking at the “Building National and Regional Supply Chain Resilience to Avert Trade Disruption” session in the Indonesia B20 Summit in Bali on Sunday (13/11/2022). Together with other panelists, Vassilis conveyed the importance of MSME empowerment and collaboration as an effort to encourage inclusive economic growth.
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mid the post-pandemic recovery momentum, investment and trade still remain part of the main drivers of the economy. As part of the economic recovery efforts micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) play a role as large as those of major corporations.
Chair of the B20 Trade and Investment Task Force Arif Rachmat explained that MSME sector is one of the main focuses of discussion and policy recommendations at the G20 Summit. The B20 Trade and Investment Task Force succeeded in formulating four policy recommendations, one of which made clearer the role of MSMEs.
“Recommendations to strengthen support and increase inclusivity in supply chains. With a more inclusive supply chain, the economy will have higher resilience, and MSMEs will become part of this supply chain," Arif said at the B20 Summit, which was held in Bali on November 13 to 14.
However, the role of MSMEs in their current state has not been optimally explored due to various limitations, especially in access to finance and market penetration.
"For this reason, we must pay serious attention to the issue to increase the inclusiveness of MSMEs in the global supply chain, and encourage MSMEs to continue to grow," he said.
On the same occasion, PT HM Sampoerna Tbk (HMSP) President Director Vassilis Gkatzelis said the pandemic and geopolitical issues had a major impact on the supply chain and its components. For this reason, there needs to be anticipation by understanding supply chain data from upstream to downstream, globally and regionally.
Aside from major corporations, MSMEs are also the focus of the B20 Trade and Investment Task Force due to their role in the economy. MSMEs contribute 50 percent to the global economy, and Indonesian MSMEs contribute 60 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
One evidence of the important role held by MSMEs is the growth in trade finance of 16 percent during the pandemic, and this is expected to continue to increase.
"So it is important to include MSMEs in the global supply chain," says Vassilis.
He also expressed his optimism about Indonesia's commitment to improving social and economic welfare more broadly through empowering MSMEs, where they are provided with a wider ecosystem, integrated with the supply chain, and gain access to technology and the market.
“Sampoerna focuses on creating value for the ecosystem as an effort to increase supply chain resilience. As an example, we empower more than 200,000 MSME traditional retailers across Indonesia through the Sampoerna Retail Community [SRC]. About 60 percent of them are women-owned, and they are the breadwinner for their families. Through this program, we provide access to technology, training, and business development opportunities for grocery stores," Vassilis explained.
According to Vassilis, all stakeholders, both government and private, must collaborate to bridge the distance that hinders MSME growth. The provision of assistance for knowledge and capacity building in digital technology adaptation, he continued, was very important to further encourage MSME inclusion in global supply and value chains.
