The West Papua MSME Curation opening to support the Proud Made in Indonesia 2023 National Movement took place Tuesday, 21 March 2023 morning.
The West Papua Regional Secretariat, the Expert Staff to the Governor for Economics and Development, the Deputy Head of the Bank Indonesia Representative Office, the Head of the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (UKM) Office, business actors, industry, and other stakeholders were present at the event.
One Hundred MSMEs Register for Curation Activities
A total of 100 Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Businesses (MSMEs) enrolled for this curation activity. These MSMEs came from West Papua MSMEs assisted by Regional Device Organizations and open recruiting results that were conducted from March 13 to March 17, 2023.
The curation of MSME items focuses on three key industries:
- the craft industry
- food and beverage products, and
- the fashion/fabric industry.
Meanwhile, MSME products included in the curation consist of three main sectors:
- craft business
- food and beverage products, and
- fashion/fabric.
In this MSME Curation activity, the Office of West Papua Bank Indonesia Representative involved experienced curators from the Dekranasda Province of West Papua, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of West Papua Province, the Office of Cooperatives and SMEs of West Papua Province, the Science Technology Area, University of Papua.
In addition, on March 20, 2023, the Head of the West Papua Bank Indonesia Representative Office hosted a Curator Training for Trainers to enhance the content and curating techniques and coordinate the curation of Prospective West Papua MSMEs.
Curation to Improve Product Quality
Implementation of Curation aims to several points, which are:
- improve product quality
- create product diversification
- increase knowledge and understanding of market trends or developments for business actors to meet consumers’ increasingly diverse needs and tastes and enter the digital ecosystem.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Chief Representative of Bank Indonesia West Papua, James Wilson Lumbantobing, said due to their considerable contributions, particularly to the national economy and employment, MSMEs play a key role in the Indonesian economy.
Contribution and Cooperation are Needed for MSME Development
However, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) development still faces various obstacles, including:
- market access for MSME products
- finance, and
- digital ecosystem access.
As the central bank, Bank Indonesia strives to make the best contribution through:
1. MSME Development Policies
MSME development policies aimed at increasing HR managerial capacities and capabilities as well as innovation from MSME through the three pillars of MSME development policies, namely corporatization, capacity building, and expanding access to financing, in order to realize MSME development productive, innovative, and adaptive.
2. Collaborate with All Stakeholders in the Development of MSME
The Deputy Chief of Bank Indonesia West Papua Province invites all stakeholders to participate in the development of MSME. To grow, advance, and be competitive globally, MSMEs require synergy and collaboration with local governments, ministries/agencies, banking, industry, associations, business players, communities, and other stakeholders.
The West Papua Bank Indonesia Representative Office hopes that the 2023 West Papua Potential MSME Curation activity will help MSME players continuously improve the quality and competitiveness of their products, making them more adaptable and able to keep up with market trends, thereby attracting more and more customers’ interest.
In addition, according to expectations, choosing MSME products will result in a way to increase in business participants’ exports.
To note, open recruitment for West Papua MSME Curation took place from Monday to Friday, 13 to 17 March 2023. Meanwhile, on March 20, 2023, curator training took place. With the enthusiasm and smooth running of this activity, it is hoped that the MSME business will be more advanced and able to compete globally.
