APP Sinar Mas Business Incubation Program for MSMEs

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small Medium Enterprises, the number of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia has reached 64.2 million equal to 60% of Indonesia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This indicates that the role of MSMEs is significant to the Indonesian economy. However, UMKM faces challenges and uncertainties due to the ongoing pandemic.

Therefore, in supporting the government through CSR program, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas collaborated with Doktor Sjahrir Foundation and Indonesia Womenpreneur Community (WPC) held a training and business incubation program for 40 MSMEs to thrive despite the challenges.

The incubation was held for 10 weeks starting from October to December 2021 for MSMEs under assistance from Mill and Desa Makmur Peduli Api (DMPA). At the end of the incubation program, the selected MSMEs were given awards at the closing ceremony in early February 2022. The majority of these MSMEs run their business of food/snack, beverages, handicrafts, and urban farming.

This program aimed to help them to be able to keep the business running and to access wider market. “The pandemic is one of the biggest challenges for MSMEs because their productivity has decreased. So, we want to help more intensively and assist them so they can survive,” said Elim Sritaba as the Chief Sustainability Officer APP Sinar Mas.

The program was done virtually via webinar, as well as direct consultation from the WPC supervisors. The material given in the program included digital product development, sales strategy, financial literacy, sustainable business principle, and so on. 

Five best MSMEs were selected with criteria such as active participation from participant, discipline, persistence, and each individual progress. The selected five best MSMEs as follows:

•    UMKM IK craft (assisted by CSR PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk, Tangerang Mill)
•    Kelompok Wanita Tani Hidroponik (assisted by CSR PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk, Tangerang Mill)
•    UMKM donat dayat (assisted by CSR PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk, Perawang Mill)
•    UMKM usaha Aulia (assisted by CSR PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk, Perawang Mill)
•    UMKM keripik tempe Fadillah (assisted by CSR PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk, Perawang Mill)

As envisioned in the ‘People’ pillar of our Sustainability Roadmap Vision (#SRV2030), we are committed to deliver long-term sustainable livelihood improvement to the community, by working together across our employees, communities and stakeholders in sustainable development.

Through business incubation programs, APP Sinar Mas continues to empower MSMEs by sharing knowledge and giving insights and experiences on business perspective so they can thrive and improve their livelihoods despite the challenges during the pandemic.