SMALL BUSINESS NEED GUIDANCE TO BE BANKABLE

          Micro, Small and Medium Business (UMKM) had proven their strength. Crisis blow did not make them surrender. Their resolution and ability to survive enabled them to stay tough. UMKM had the potential to contribute more national economic development so they must be nurtured in the proper way. Assistance from the banking sector for UMKM would make them develop and grow even bigger.

           

            The objective of nurturing was to step up managerial capability of UMKM businesspeople in handling the managerial aspects of business which were more complex with the capability to launch broader marketing campaigns and manage logistics and distribution more effectively, to expand business, to finance long term financing, to manage human resources and appraise performances. UMKM must also be more bankable, well organized, visionary, self reliant and has the potential to grow.

           

            The Secretary General of the Association of Indonesian Small Business Empowerment (IPKINDO) Andy Saputra Stated that he would be more focused on management training efforts and motivation for UMKM to enable them to access the banking system. Andy stated that promoting UMKM must be focused on enhancing motivation and management whereby to increase their capability that they be more business worthy and deserved bank’s assistance. “Our endeavor was just to nurture UMKM that they be more bankable” Andy was quoted as saying.

           

            According to Andy that they might survive, UMKM must be adaptive to environmental change. The change, he said, must be anticipate and handled well, because they were the key to business success, i.e. to keep abreast with changes, to be responsible to environmental change, market developments, consumers’ preferences etc.

           

            It was expected that UMKM development efforts would be sustainable, so that one day they might grow and elevate to higher class to be bankable. He further explained that bankable could be defined as a healthy company and pass as bank’s partner. That business might grow, the key word was will power, including the spirit to struggle hard.

           

            UMKM were true entrepreneurs beyond compare. For that matter, UMKM needed to step up product’s quality, income level, and to foster closeness to consumers, increase consumer’s satisfaction, and build strong branding. The primary thing, according to Andy, was how to enable UMKM to access credit for people’s business (KUR) and to ensure legality of their business premises which was one of the prerequirements for credit application.

            Andy stated that it was about time for the banking sector to give greater attention to continuity of UMKM. Financing for he linkages system was one of the efforts to revitalize the UMKM sector. The UMKM was today constantly growing, so the banks needs to facilitate them that they might expanse. The business prospect of UMKM was good. He was optimistic that the business potential of UMKM products was bright, it could even penetrate the global market. “So never fear that you would miss a market share” Andy remarked.