Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) - The State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry is planning to install 80 vending machines selling products made by domestic micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at locations belonging to SOEs.
Special Staff to the SOEs Minister, Arya Sinulingga, said that the government will continue to help MSMEs by taking strategic steps to strengthen their ecosystem.
"The 80 vending machines will be located at airports, train stations, ports, SOEs offices, and Pelni ships," he informed at the inauguration of a vending machine at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday.
According to him, SOEs and MSMEs need to collaborate in order to achieve the goal. The program is expected to benefit MSMEs by widening their market opportunities.
Sinulingga informed that earlier, his party placed MSME vending machines at the SOEs Ministry office, Gondangdia Station, and Gambir Station.
At Soekarno-Hatta airport, the management and operations of the automatic vending machines will be fully handled by Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) at Terminal 1, Telkom at Terminal 2, and PLN at Terminal 3, he added.
"With vending machines, MSME products are closer to their consumers. The machine also operates 24 hours a day. It is placed in strategic places with busy movement. This program aims to bring bigger market opportunities for them, in line with the direction from SOEs Minister Erick Thohir," he continued.
Based on information provided by the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), there are 19 million MSMEs that have been integrated into the digital ecosystem.
The number of digitally connected MSMEs increased by almost 130 percent after the pandemic, and it is projected to reach 30 million this year.
With the collaboration, it is hoped that the synergy between SOEs and MSMEs throughout Indonesia can continue to be built, Sinulingga said. He then encouraged all SOEs offices to install vending machines to sell MSME products.
"Besides reaching a wider audience, the vending machines can challenge our MSMEs to improve the quality of their products," he added.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia G P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
