Minister of Trade (Mendag), Budi Santoso said that Indonesia's entrepreneurship ratio is still lagging behind neighboring countries. In order to catch up, his party is collaborating with Sebelas Maret University (UNS) to produce young export-oriented entrepreneurs. According to him, Indonesia still faces major challenges in developing entrepreneurship. Currently, the national entrepreneurship ratio has only reached 3.4%. Meanwhile, Malaysia and Thailand are already above 4%, and Singapore has even reached 8.6%. In fact, to become a developed country, the entrepreneurship ratio must reach at least 12% of the total workforce. "So we have to catch up on that lag towards Advanced Indonesia, Golden Indonesia 2045," he said. To that end, the Ministry of Trade will hold various training, guidance, and business matching programs. He hopes that MSMEs and students in Surakarta City can develop into successful entrepreneurs who are able to penetrate the international market.

"From our program, we have a program called MSMEs Can Export. So Being Able to Export means daring to innovate and being ready to adapt. We want MSMEs not only to survive, but to truly develop and be ready to compete in the global arena," he said. As a form of support, the Ministry of Trade also relies on trade attachés and the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in 33 countries. This step is to bridge MSMEs with foreign buyers. On that occasion, Budi was also awarded as one of the outstanding alumni of UNS 2025. He hopes that the cooperation between universities and the government can further accelerate the growth of young entrepreneurs in Indonesia.

Source:
https://www.rri.co.id/umkm/1383788/mendag-gandeng-uns-cetak-pengusaha-muda-berorientasi-ekspor