Pekalongan, C Java (ANTARA) - Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Moeldoko said that Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were still the backbone of the national economy, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is very concerned about the development of MSMEs in Indonesia, especially the importance of digitalizing MSMEs, he added.
"I am delighted when I see the development (of the MSME sector) because Indonesian MSME actors are the backbone of the national economy, although they were previously hit by COVID-19," he said during a visit to Pekalongan district, Central Java province, on Tuesday evening.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, MSME actors were significantly affected by the pandemic, however, now, they have developed very high resilience, thus, they have managed to survive, he observed.
Furthermore, he said that the government has helped cooperatives and MSMEs in facing the difficult situation by providing incentives. "The MSMEs in Pekalongan district are quite creative and very responsive to market demands. There are (many) new product diversifications, which can be developed," the chief of KSP noted.
Pekalongan district has a number of potential trademark products, including batik cloth, thus they need to be explored continuously to understand the demands of the market, he added.
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He said he expected that in the future, MSME players will get more facilities from the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministry as well as the banking sector, especially regarding the provision of People's Business Credit (KUR) "Because the Cooperatives and SMEs Minister (Teten Masduki) is very concerned about this," he said.
Head of Pekalongan district Fadia Arafiq informed that most of the residents in the district produce fashion products, such as jeans and batik.
"Most people know jeans products are from West Java, however, they are made in Pekalongan district. In addition, batik, which is also known to have originated from other regions, many (batik) craftspersons come from Pekalongan district,” she added.