Small Dream Towards Self-Empowerment

KOMPAS/INSAN ALFAJRI

Sini (49), a small trader on Jalan Administration II, Petamburan, Central Jakarta.

Most owners of ultra micro enterprises are living from day to day during the Covid-19 health crisis. They dream of receiving capital assistance from the government, so they can grow their businesses and support their families’ financial needs.

Sini, 49, a mobile beverage vendor who trades on Jl. Administration II in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, complained about a decline in income during the Covid-19 health crisis. Her husband provides public transportation services as a bajaj (three-wheeled vehicle) driver. Before the pandemic struck Indonesia, her husband brought home about Rp 70,000 (US$5) every day.

"Now, he brings home Rp 25,000, for which I’m grateful [in the current conditions]. So I became a street vendor. It\'s not good to leave my husband to make a living on his own,” Sini said last week.

Also read : Government Guarantees MSME Working Capital Loans

Sini sells sachets of coffee and snacks for children at her beverage stall. During a busy day, she could make Rp 150,000, she said. On a quiet day, however, she only makes enough to pay her installment debt to a money lender, from whom she borrowed Rp 500,000 to start her business.

She pays an installment of Rp 20,000 per day over one month. She did not tell her husband about her debt. "If he knew, he would be very angry because he would worry that I will not be able to pay it," said Sini, who is originally from Cirebon, West Java.

Sini has five children. The youngest is in elementary school back in Cirebon. Every month, she sends an allowance of Rp 300,000. "He said once that it was not enough. However, I told him that the economy in Jakarta was still [tight]. Luckily, he understood," she said.

Also read : Minority of MSMEs Utilize Tax Incentives

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A worker makes tofu at a home industry in Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta, Monday (11/11/2019). This micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) has not incorporated digital technology. Marketing is carried out conventionally at traditional markets in the Mampang Prapatan and Kebayoran areas.

Sini and her family receive basic food aid from the government once a month. The food package consists of rice, cooking oil and canned fish, and is of great help to her family."We [once] got a small can of sardines, and the fish was really fishy. We had to squeeze some lime over it first to get rid of the smell. But [still], thank God. We have assistance,” Sini added.

Sini hopes that the government will provide more than basic food aid. She was tired of always borrowing from the money lender. She wanted capital assistance from the government so she could expand her stall’s merchandise. She was afraid to take out a bank loan because she had never dealt with banks.

Also read : Strengthen MSMEs in Domestic Market

Meanwhile, Ipah, 55, is the backbone of her family in Manggarai, South Jakarta. She sells gado-gado (mixed vegetables with rice and peanut sauce). Her husband had a stroke three months ago. She has two children. Her first child is married while her second child, is 29 and currently unemployed.

Ipah makes Rp 200,000 if she sells her entire day’s supply of gado-gado. If she has a lot of unsold gado-gado by the end of a day, she takes home about Rp 80,000. She has applied several times for the senior citizen card for her husband, who is 63. However, her husband remains unregistered until now. In Jakarta, a senior citizen cardholder receives a monthly support allowance of Rp 600,000 from the city administration.

Ipah is hoping that the government’s capital assistance for small businesses will be easy to receive and low risk. She was once a member of the National Madani Savings and Loans Group for Fostering Family Prosperity (PNM Mekar). The loan is specifically intended for women who run ultra micro businesses.

KOMPAS/INSAN ALFAJRI

Ipah (55), a hodgepodge seller in Manggarai.

"However, because the system is based on shared responsibility, I always make sure to pay my installments, so I always have my savings deducted to fill the gap of other members whose payments are [deferred]. I couldn’t bear it, so I left," she said.

Muhammad Nuh, 55, is another street vendor who also has not received any government assistance. In fact, the Covid-19 health crisis has impacted his business by slashing his daily profit by more than half, from Rp 80,000 per day before the crisis to Rp 40,000 per day now.

"My earnings are only enough to buy food for my wife and children and pay housing rent of Rp 500,000 per month, which I sometimes have to be pay in installments," said Nuh, who has been a street vendor for 30 years.

Also read : Continually Promoting MSMEs

Nuh didn’t dare take out a loan from a bank or a money lender, although he could use additional capital to support his business.

If he receives capital assistance, Nuh plans to expand his merchandise for his wife to sell at home. "But I don\'t dare to dream and I don\'t know where I can get the capital. I’m just doing what I can do," he said.

Capital assistance

President Mirah Sumirat of the Indonesian Labor Unions Association (ASPI) said that the government assistance referred only to the data on registered members of the Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan). The government should also include ultra micro businesses and informal workers, she said, adding that officials at the neighborhood unit, community unit and subdistrict levels should be involved in registering such workers so they were aware of the actual conditions of their residents.

"The government must immediately incorporate data on ultra micro businesses and informal workers, most of which are not recorded," said Mirah.

Kompas

Muhammad Nuh (55), an accessory trader in the Mulyaharja area, Bogor City.

Mirah also encourages residents to be proactive in telling local officials about any neighbors who had been affected by Covid-19 but were not receiving any assistance, and not just wait for the government to take the initiative. Residents could report directly to government agencies or use social media to spread the information.

Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministry secretary Rully Indrawan said that the government would soon be distributing cash grants of Rp 2.4 million each to micro and ultra micro business owners. The aid scheme, dubbed the Productive Presidential Assistance (Banpres), was to be used as extra working capital and would be transferred directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.

This is an opportunity to update the data because more policies could [then] be issued for developing [SMEs]

Ikhsan Ingratubun, who chairs the Indonesian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Akumindo), emphasized out that ultra micro business owners who met the criteria for the capital assistance scheme should report to the local SMEs office, either in person or online.

"This is an opportunity to update the data because more policies could [then] be issued for developing [SMEs]," he said.

Integrated

Found and economist Hendri Saparini of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia believed that saving micro and ultra micro businesses needed an integrated strategy. The government, according to him, tended to split its aid strategy, which caused a delay in their distribution.

"It seems that the strategy for helping MSMEs is separate from other assistance schemes. In fact, if the health program, village funds, and other social assistance programs were linked to the UMKM program, this would enable MSMEs to provide more jobs and create added value," said Hendri.

Executive director Tauhid Ahmad of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) said that ultra micro business owners needed to be provided with a long-term mentoring program to help ensure the sustainability of their businesses.