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The government kicked off Monday its SME empowerment program
with the signing of agreements on debts for 12 micro, small and medium
businesses in a ceremony held by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The borrowers are business entities and cooperatives operating in
various sectors ranging from maritime and fisheries to garments that
are fostered by some ministries and banks.
They are part of the 580,000 micro, small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) and cooperatives expected to receive bank loans of up to Rp
14.5 trillion under the government-sponsored easy credit and collateral
program.
Under the program, the bank lending will be guaranteed by two
state-owned credit insurance and financing firms, PT Asuransi Kredit
Indonesia and Perum Sarana Pengembangan Usaha, using funds allocated by
the government.
The credit guarantee scheme, the President said, was part of a
continuous effort in improving the welfare of Indonesians and
alleviating poverty that necessitated cooperation of all parties
involved.
"This program is the most appropriate way of alleviating poverty and
reducing unemployment," the President told participants of the opening
ceremony, which took place at the Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI)
headquarters in Jakarta.
BRI president director Sofyan Basir, said that his bank, one of the six
state-owned financial institutions participating in the first stage of
the program, had actively fostered the growth of loans for MSMEs and
cooperatives.
"We currently have 5,000 office branches; 4,000 of which are called BRI
units that have been providing unrivaled financial services in remote
areas to support MSMEs and cooperatives.".
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