Batam (ANTARA) - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said that young entrepreneurs are playing the role of pillars of Indonesia's economic growth. "Earlier, we have seen enthusiasm from mothers, and now, we can see the same from youths. Both groups are the pillars of our economic growth. Therefore, we will direct them," he added after attending the "Seminar and 2023 Local Heroes Award" event in Batam city, Riau Islands, on Saturday.
He also expressed the hope that both groups of entrepreneurs will tap the potential to stimulate the country's economic growth, both at home and from abroad. The rise in young business actors actively participating in the country's economic activities is expected to help the government create more jobs, he added.
"We captured the high enthusiasm expressed by them (the youths). I think related stakeholders should collaborate to incubate their businesses. I believe that the business entities we saw earlier, such as Hanika and Sidomulyo, will become big enterprises in 10 to 15 years," he said.
According to the minister, the government has the responsibility to assist and side with young entrepreneurs as they can contribute to its efforts to create more job opportunities. Minister Uno also emphasized the need to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) increase their revenue by encouraging them to adopt digital technology for promoting their products.
"Hopefully, the incomes of MSMEs will increase, in line with the increase in tourist visits. It should also be noted that the living cost in Singapore is quite high. Therefore, we can expect more of them (Singaporeans) to visit Batam, especially on weekends like this," he said.
Earlier, at the 2023 Indonesian Creative Appreciation (AKI) exhibition in Batam on Saturday, the minister invited creative economy business actors to apply the 3SI principles of innovation, adaptation, and collaboration.
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He also affirmed that his ministry is currently striving to step up the digitalization of domestic MSMEs, adding that so far this year, at least 20 million MSMEs have been digitized or have penetrated e-commerce platforms. Furthermore, he informed that the ministry has continued to work toward digitizing more MSMEs to reach the targeted 30 million MSMEs by early 2024.
