PLN’s MSME products are selling well at the ASEAN Summit: Erick and Sandi are buying them up

Jakarta, Armfalcon.com —

Products of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) assisted by PT PLN (Persero) sold well at the Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Hub which was a series of supporting activities for the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo.

Products in the form of handicrafts, coffee, weaving, and souvenirs from Rumah BUMN Bajawa and Rumah BUMN Ende were bought up by buyers, including a number of ministers.

Starting from Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono, to Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Angela Tanoesoedibjo. They are enthusiastic about trying and buying a variety of superior products that have penetrated the international market.

The SMEs Hub itself is an agenda that accommodates BUMN-assisted MSME actors to showcase their superior products to delegates and invited guests for the ASEAN Summit agenda in Labuan Bajo.

Six PLN-assisted MSMEs participated in the agenda which was held on 9-13 May 2023 at the Water Front, Labuan Bajo NTT. The six SMEs are Koeslin Bamboo Flores, Nature and Fine Arts Lovers Community, Wua Mesu, Tentje Collection, Dekranasda Weaving Group, and Ensikei.

Regarding this event, Erick Thohir emphasized his commitment to encouraging the development of MSMEs in Indonesia. According to him, the presence of MSMEs is the spearhead of the foundation of the Indonesian economy.

“MSMEs are the spearhead of our economic foundation, but they cannot be released alone. That’s why we at BUMN focus on synergizing with all ministries and local governments to finance, guide, and create markets,” said Erick.

For this reason, Erick said, the Ministry of SOEs synergizes with various parties to continue to provide assistance to MSME actors so they can upgrade. Among other things, through various programs such as people’s business loans (KUR), BUMN houses and others.

“This is clear evidence that we are indeed present, but funding is not enough if there is no assistance. Many ministries, there are the Ministry of Youth and Sport, Pak Teten (Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs), we are from BUMN, the Ministry of Trade also assist them so that the quality is better,” he said.

On a separate occasion, Main Director of PLN Darmawan Prasodjo said the 42nd ASEAN Summit was one of the venues to support the development of MSMEs and introduce a wider range of their products.

According to him, this proves that PLN is not only committed to electricity but also provides support for MSMEs to be economically independent.

“The ASEAN Summit is also a momentum to promote PLN-assisted local MSME products to continue to develop and market their products so that they can be known more widely, not only nationally but also globally,” Darmawan said.

Darmawan explained, the SMEs involved had also gone through a strict curation. So, he ensured that the PLN-assisted MSMEs that appeared at the ASEAN Summit had products that were competitive.

“Of course we are also proud that our fostered MSME products can contribute to the side event of the ASEAN Summit. We have curated the UMKM that we have brought to Labuan Bajo and are UMKM that have highly competitive products so they can attend an event of this magnitude,” said Darmawan.

Darmawan added, PLN will continue its commitment to MSME development with the aim of increasing people’s productivity. PLN’s efforts are part of the company’s commitment to the principles of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in creating sustainable economic development.

“PLN will continue to provide assistance to MSME players. We hope to increase productivity and expand the market,” said Darmawan.

Apart from that, PLN has also provided a special forum for MSME actors through the marketplace feature in the PLN Mobile application. This feature is an innovation from PLN for MSME actors to be able to market and promote their products digitally. Through this feature, PLN accelerates MSME development.

“With the number of downloaders now reaching more than 39 million, PLN Mobile can become a very potential market for MSMEs to market their products digitally,” concluded Darmawan.

(osc)

[Gambas:Video CNN]