By Nancy Nais
PONTIANAK, April 20: Micro, small and medium enterprises (SME) in West Kalimantan must seize available opportunities to develop their business.
With the relocation of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara to East Kalimantan, Consul for Economic Affairs Theodorus Satrio Nugroho from the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) Kuching highlighted the potential influx of around two million Indonesian residents to Kalimantan on Borneo Island.
The relocation of the capital of Indonesia is a mega move and will definitely trigger economic impact in various industries such as trade, properties, hotels, product and services, manufacturing, transportation and tourism, he said.
“Therefore, we are calling all the SMEs to make use of this opportunity. Continue to innovate, improve your products and follow the trends in business development.
“We want you players to be able to showcase your unique and potential products to the local and international community,” Theodorus said at the UMKM Borneo forums held in Pontianak and Singkawang on April 19 and 20.
The forum saw discussions and presentations aimed to provide insight and in-depth understanding of the latest developments in the business world and provide inspiration for SME entrepreneurs.
He added that a website for these SMEs throughout Borneo is currently being set up.
“With this platform, communication between SMEs in Borneo will become more intensive. We hope that with this, entrepreneurs can improve their product quality and marketing strategy.
“We also have the Indonesian Stock Exchange or IDX Corporation which is ready to support UMKM entrepreneurs throughout Borneo in terms of access to capitals available, incubators and others facilities to encourage them in improving their business performance,” Theodorus said.
Among those at the forum were Republic of Indonesia’s consul general in Kuching, Raden Sigit Witjaksono and Malaysia’s Consulate General in Pontianak, Consul Azizul Zekri Abd Rahim. — DayakDaily
