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THE MINISTER of Cooperatives and Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Teten Masduki targets to have 50 new entrepreneurs from groups of people with disabilities by 2023 with the establishment of the first disability cooperative in Indonesia, namely the Tangguh Berdikari Indonesia Marketing Cooperative.
At the peak of the 2022 ‘Karya Tanpa Batas’ in Jakarta, Tuesday (12/20), the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry handed over the decree establishing the Tangguh Berdikari Indonesia Marketing Cooperative, as a disability cooperative and the decree establishing an incubator with the name Indonesian Disability Entrepreneurial Incubator.
“With the establishment of this cooperative and incubation institution, we target that next year 50 new companies or entrepreneurs from persons with disabilities can be established that can be competitive and sustainable in running their business. This is quite an ambitious figure, but we are sure we can run it,” he said.
Teten hopes that the establishment of cooperatives and incubator institutions will be able to facilitate persons with disabilities so that they have legal entities.
According to the former Presidential Chief of Staff, based on the 2020 Social Welfare Index, as many as 72% of people with disabilities still work in the informal sector. Meanwhile, 22 percent of them are in the productive age group but do not yet have easy access to run their own business.
Teten revealed, as soon as they have a legal entity, entrepreneurs with disabilities will get greater access to financing to develop their businesses.
“In the future, when people with disabilities have built their cooperative, their business activities have been integrated with the cooperative, we will integrate the KUR cluster from banking. Each business actor can access around IDR500 million. It is quite large,” he said.
Teten also said that he would continue to encourage financing partnerships with other banking institutions, both state-owned and private. This is expected to create a complete ecosystem so that an inclusive economy can be realized.
“Because we have to fight for welfare and a decent life for people with disabilities. These steps are our endeavor to provide equal opportunities for all people, including persons with disabilities,” said Teten.
The Work Without Borders exhibition was organized as an initiative of the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet Era Solidarity Action Organization (OASE-KIM) in collaboration with the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), and the Tangguh Mandiri Indonesia Women’s Foundation (PTI), as part of the from the commemoration of International Day of Disabilities which falls on 3 December each year. [sources/photo special]
