Holiday Ayo - Various international institutions have predicted that Indonesia will become a developed country in 2045.

To achieve this prediction, Indonesia needs to focus on increasing the entrepreneurship ratio to 12 percent, which is considered the main requirement for becoming a developed country. 

Currently, the national entrepreneurship ratio has only reached 3.47 percent, according to the Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (SesMenkopUKM), Arif Rahman Hakim. 

To achieve the target of 12 percent by 2045, hard efforts are needed from the government and related stakeholders. 

“Innovation is the key to facing the challenges of rapid world trend transformation. MSMEs need to develop innovation to grow and move up in class," said Arif Rahman in a media discussion with the theme 'MSMEs Upgrade Towards a Golden Indonesia' organized by the Cooperative and SME Journalists Forum (Forwakop) on Friday (17/11).

Arif Rahman Hakim in a discussion supported by PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA), PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BNI), and PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk. mentions five indicators to achieve 'upgrade' for MSME players. 

First, the fulfillment of all variables mandated by Government Regulation Number 7/2021 concerning convenience, protection and empowerment of Cooperatives and MSMEs. 

Second, the increase in MSME turnover. Third, inclusiveness of MSMEs in the use of technology and information. 

Fourth, ease of export and access to information. Fifth, product clustering and downstreaming. 

“With this discussion, we hope to produce ideas and thoughts to support the growth of MSMEs in Indonesia towards a golden Indonesia in 2045," he added. 

Assistant Deputy for SME Financing and Investment, Deputy for SMEs, KemenKopUKM, Temmy Satya Permana highlighted the problem of encouraging MSMEs to move up a class, especially in the era of massive information technology development. 

Many micro businesses face price wars on digital platforms and are dominated by resellers rather than producers.

“Our challenge in the future is to encourage micro actors to carry out transformation. This cannot be separated from the joint efforts of the government, private sector, universities, society and the media," said Temmy.

Regarding the abundance of imported products, the Ministry of Trade has issued Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 31/2023 to protect MSMEs, especially producers, from unfair competition.