The Ministry of Trade and the Asia Council for Small Business (ACSB) recently discussed potential cooperation, particularly to maximize the "UMKM BISA Ekspor" program, which encourages micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to explore export opportunities. This initiative, launched by the Ministry of Trade, aims to help MSMEs expand their reach to international markets. The discussion took place during a meeting between the Minister of Trade, Budi Santoso (Mendag Busan), and Hermawan Kartajaya, the founder and chairman of ACSB Indonesia, on Monday, February 3rd, 2025, at the Ministry's office in Jakarta. Mendag Busan emphasized the importance of involving more stakeholders in the program to drive greater export growth.
During the meeting, several strategies to improve the UMKM BISA Ekspor program were proposed. These included collaboration with the Paguyuban Sosial Marga Tionghoa Indonesia (PSMTI) under ACSB, which could serve as an aggregator for MSMEs and help facilitate business matching events. Additionally, ACSB, through Markplus, would support training for potential trade representatives, while also playing a role in MSME development. Furthermore, the Ministry of Trade’s Directorate General for National Export Development could participate in an ACSB side event in Milan, Italy, in May 2025, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Mendag Busan also shared that, as of January 2025, 72 business matching activities had been held, generating USD 5.22 million in transactions, with 196 MSMEs actively involved in sectors such as food and beverages, coffee, spices, furniture, handicrafts, medical devices, and chemicals.
