KADIN SEEKING COOPERATION WITH JETRO TO DEVELOP MICRO-BUSINESSES

Jakarta, June 13 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) is seeking to cooperate with Japan's External Trade Organization (Jetro) to improve the country's micro, small and medium businesses (UMKM).

"Kadin is exploring cooperation with Jetro and the Japanese trade organization is already starting to design programs for several provinces in the country," Kadin's deputy general chairman for UMKM and cooperatives, Sandiago Uno, said here on Saturday.

He said the cooperation program had been discussed at Kadin's techical meetings last week and introduced for several provinces such as North Sumatra, Central Java, West Nusa Tenggara and North Maluku.

The cooperation was aimed at empowering regional economies through a business guidance program based upon one village one top product idea and also training Kadin business advisors in the regions.
He said the Kadin-Jetro cooperation program was aimed at mainly boosting major products for regions particularly handicraft products to international markets especially Japan.

The business guidance program for Kadin members especially small and medium businesses was intended for making them self-reliance and made so that participants could get training by Jetro experts.

Advisors are trained in regions so that they could lead small and medium businesses in overcoming problems particularly funding access and quality standards.

The Kadin-Jetro cooperaton program was important with regard to adjusting their products to the market demand and making them marketable in Japan directly.

Program participants would also be given an opportunity to exhibit their products that had already met export standards at domestic or foreign exhibitions