Jakarta, 22 April 2022 -- Efforts to increase the penetration of MSMEs to go global still need to be followed by various programs to improve financial literacy. PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. or BNI (stock code: BBNI) through the London Branch Office continues to improve mentoring programs so that the acceleration of Go Global MSME performance is stronger during the economic recovery period.
The Indonesian Ambassador to the UK and Ireland and IMO, Desra Percaya said that during the pandemic, Indonesia's exports increased and remained in surplus. This means that the number of goods exported by Indonesia is still much higher than that imported from the UK. The trade between the two countries is dominated by exports from Indonesia, especially wood products and furniture.
"But this value still does not reflect its true potential and there is still room for improvement, especially for MSME products," said Desra.
To increase trade with Britain, he encouraged MSME products to become one of the leading products. For this reason, the Indonesian Embassy in the UK also makes efforts to assist, promote, and collaborate with financial institutions.
One of the collaborations that have been established with BNI is in London. This is because, in addition to product quality and promotion, access to finance plays an important role for MSMEs, especially in terms of capital and transactions.
"The Indonesian Embassy becomes a facilitator, providing input on opportunities and obstacles that are usually faced by Indonesian business actors. Then Business Matching with prospective buyers from the UK for superior products such as spices, furniture, wood, and textiles," said Desra.
He admits that Indonesia is still less well known and is one of the challenges. This makes the diaspora in the UK have an important role in promoting and introducing Indonesian products.
"There are 70 Indonesian diaspora engaged in arts, culture, services, culinary which form ISME UK so that they can promote their products. Then facilitate the expansion of the MSME network to comply with government policies and the UK market, to credit financing with the support of BNI," he explained.
BNI London General Manager, Roekma Hari Adji said that in the future, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will continue to grow, especially with the rapid development of digital technology.
Seeing this, BNI always strives to provide solutions and financial literacy so that MSMEs can rise up and penetrate the global market.
"We will maximize BNI's capability to contribute so that MSMEs can go global. One of them is through BNI Xpora, we seek to provide end-to-end solutions for MSMEs so that they can penetrate the global market," said Adji.
Furthermore, Adji conveyed that financial literacy is one solution for MSME players to understand how to do business with global players. The lack of financial literacy is often an obstacle for MSMEs to advance to class or penetrate the global market.
"BNI's international desk and trade finance specialists are ready to provide financial literacy related to global transactions and risk management, as well as tips for doing business globally," said Adji.
BNI is also trying to connect Indonesian MSMEs with diaspora MSMEs in the UK (business matching).
Connecting local MSMEs with the diaspora, according to him, can be one of the efforts to increase MSME exports to the UK.
"In the UK it is still necessary to introduce local MSME products because Indonesian products still need to be introduced, so to help BNI-assisted MSMEs, we introduce them through the diaspora MSME ecosystem, participating in exhibitions in the UK on an international scale," he said.
When the MSME is able to export, and wants to expand the market. BNI through its overseas branches will also provide financial solutions related to export credit capital, working capital, or investment credit. "For those who have a business development plan, BNI has an end-to-end solution," he said.
Currently, BNI London is also synergizing with the Indonesian Embassy in bringing BNI-fostered products to the UK. His party is also active in economic diplomacy, and the good relations between the two countries are a big opportunity for MSMEs.
"We want to be one of the pillars of developing MSMEs to go global from a banking perspective in collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy and other key stakeholders, namely collaborating with diaspora MSMEs to study market trends regarding what is needed in the UK market, and introducing Indonesian MSME products to the diaspora here together to penetration into a wider market," he said.