Cooperative Minister Develops 260 Small Scale Marts

Jakarta, Jan 7 (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-and-Medium Business or UKM will develop 260 modern retail shops to be managed by the "UKM Mart" Cooperatives scheme at potential points across the country this year. "We will develop 260 UKM Marts across the country in 2013", Neddy Rafinaldi Halim, the deputy minister for the development of business networks of the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small Businesses, said here on Monday. Neddy said that the ministry continued to develop modern retail cooperatives shops named UKM Marts with a tag-line "Koperasi Kita," (our cooperatives). "We are aware of the fact that the majority of cooperatives retail shops are in a limited condition, such as limited spaces of shops, types of goods, management, human resources competence and institutional capacities," Neddy said. He said that his side in 2012 has developed 18 cooperatives retail UKM Mart shops of the 84 cooperative retail shops established in 2011. It was continued in 2012 so that the number of cooperatives retail shops developed in 2012 reached at 24. "The increasing number of cooperatives retail shops which were developed into a modern retail shop indicated a significant development of this business," he said. He said that the number of costumers of the cooperatives retail shops also increased from about 50 per day per shop to 200 per day per shop. The increasing number of customers also generated its turn out from about Rp1-Rp2 million per day to about Rp5 to Rp7 million. The number of types of goods also increased from about 1,000 to 2,500 items. "Cooperatives also have been able to increase their workers absorption capacity, with an average two workers per shop," Neddy said. In the meantime, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Sjarifuddinn Hasan pledges his ministry would create one million new jobs in 2013. The ministry would launch a number of program to create new jobs such as through National Entrepreneurship Movement to turn out more entrepreneurs, Sjarifuddinn said last week. He said he was convinced the target could be reached as more than 90 percent of Indonesian business players are operators of small and medium scale enterprises. "Among the things that we needs to do is to provide capital for new entrepreneurs," he said. He said the ministry is preparing a formula for a new scheme under the Program of Small Business Credit (KUR) to serve as a forum to seek capital for new entrepreneurs. "This would be part of diversification of KUR products," he said. He said he has submitted a proposal to the KUR Policy Committee, which is chaired by the Chief Economics Minister requesting immediate implementation of the KUR scheme for new entrepreneurs. He said the National Entrepreneurship Movement succeeded in increasing the number of new entrepreneurs from 570,339 in 2011 to 3,707,205 or 1.56 percent of the country`s total population by the end of 2012. "This year we hope the number of entrepreneurs could exceed 2 percent of the country`s total population," he said.