PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BRI) targets 45 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to be loan shark free. Director of BRI Sunarso explained that MSME actors are not connected to banks. This will make them rely on loan funds from moneylenders to keep their businesses running. Even though these loans provide MSME actors with very high interest.
“So there are still many who go to loan sharks. That’s still 45 million who are able to pay high interest,” he said at the CNBC Economic Outlook 2023 (28/02/2023).
Reported by cnnindonesia.com, Sunarso is determined to bring MSME actors to get financing from government financial institutions. One of them is through the People’s Business Credit (KUR) which is offered at low interest.
“So if asked, we will definitely top up later. We want to target the community of 45 million micro entrepreneurs who have not had contact with financial institutions,” he said.
Sunarso also explained that his party would form an Ultra Micro Holding. This team consists of BRI, PT Pegadaian, and PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM). This collaboration is expected to facilitate the division of tasks, so that it can attract more MSMEs.
“Therefore, we are segmenting PNM whose job is grooming micro prospects,” he added.
For information, the total number of MSMEs in Indonesia currently reaches 60 million people. Of this amount, only 18 million were touched by banking, BPR or pawnshop financing.
