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BRI intensifies support for SMEs
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Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) treasury director Haru Koesmahargyo (left), president director Asmawi Syam (middle) and vice president Sunarso pose after a press conference about the bank’s Q3 performance in Jakarta on Oct. 25. (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
A
s part of its strategy to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), state-owned lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) invited more than 100 SMEs that were BRI customers from across Indonesia to showcase their products in JIEXPO Kemayoran in Central Jakarta on Saturday.
BRI president director Asmawi Syam said that the two-day event on Dec. 17 and 18, entitled UMKM Digitalvolution, is part of the bank’s attempt to propel SME businesses to the next level by providing them space, access to finance and information assistance.
“Many SMEs have creative products, but their challenges usually are related to the lack of access to finance,” he told reporters during the event, which was held to celebrate the firm’s 121th birthday.
(Read also: BRI books US$1.4 billion in Q3 profit amid rising bad loans)
One of participants, Neneng Tursinih, a 60-year-old entrepreneur who sells handmade Barbie houses to young girls, said that when she started her business in 2000, she had to borrow Rp 4 million (US$307) from BRI.
“Now I can borrow up to Rp 200 million as my business has expanded,” she said, describing how she now manages more than five resellers in Jakarta, Serang, Purwakarta and Sukabumi with average sales of Rp 40 million a month.
The UMKM Digitalvolution event offers seminars, exhibitions and a coaching clinic to facilitate SMEs and the general public with strategies to help expand their businesses. The 121 SMEs who participated in the event are showcasing various products ranging from food and beverages to fashions, accessories and handicrafts. (win/jun)
