JAKARTA: Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Puspayoga launched Indocraft Expo, an annual batik and handicrafts exhibition, at the Jakarta Convention Center, on Wednesday.
Now in its 12th year, Indograft Expo aims to boost exports of batik and other handicraft products to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grow.
Puspayoga said that the government had tried to help SMEs develop by opening up access to financial resources.
Starting from last September, he said, a bank loan’s annual interest for SMEs had been lowered to 12 percent from 22 percent and non-collateral loans under Rp 25 million (US$1,810) could be applied for more easily.
“These policies represent the government’s efforts to empower SMEs. Hopefully, SMEs can serve as the nation’s economic backbone in the future,” said Puspayoga.
The minister encouraged SME communities to register their businesses with the Law and Human Rights Ministry.
“Currently, enterprises can register their products through an online system to acquire a copyright license at the Law and Human Rights Ministry. The process is free. In the past, it used to take around eight months to get the copyright license approved. Now, however, it only takes one day for approval,” he added.
Some 332 SMEs took part in this year’s event.
The organizers also presented lectures and talks on entrepreneurialism, inviting speakers from the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry, the National Handicrafts Board, the Cinta Berkain Community and the Law and Human Rights Ministry.
The United States, Hong Kong and Japan are Indonesia’s main batik and handicrafts export markets. Export targets have recently expanded to other countries such the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Holland, South Korea, France and Singapore.
