Nobel Laureate Paul Romer Emphasizes Strong Ecosystem for MSMEs, Aligning with BRI’s Initiatives

JAKARTA, investortrust.id – Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer highlighted the challenges faced by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in scaling up and integrating into the broader economy. According to Romer, the success of MSMEs largely depends on their ability to grow within an ecosystem that supports business expansion and effective integration with other economic sectors.

Romer emphasized this point while speaking at the BRI Microfinance Outlook 2025 forum, held at Nusantara Hall, ICE BSD, on Jan 30, 2025. The event, organized by PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BRI), aims to optimize MSME development through strategic initiatives.

According to Romer, a key challenge in MSME policy is the tendency to focus too much on financial aid while neglecting business scale and economic integration.

“If we genuinely want to help small businesses grow into a larger economic force in Indonesia, the best approach is to create environments where these businesses can flourish and succeed,” he stated.

BRI’s Strategic Initiatives for MSMEs

BRI has launched several strategic initiatives to develop rural economic ecosystems, including its flagship Desa BRILiaN program. This initiative serves as an incubation program focused on rural development through four main pillars: strengthening village-owned enterprises (BUMDes), digitalization, innovation, and sustainability.

By the end of 2024, BRI had nurtured 4,327 Desa BRILiaN villages across Indonesia, a significant increase from 3,178 in the previous year. Desa BRILiaN reflects BRI’s commitment as an agent of development, continuously supporting village empowerment across the country. The program is part of an integrated effort, including the hyperlocal ecosystem approach, to consolidate microeconomic activities.

As part of this program, BRI also strengthens rural economic ecosystems through the Klasterku Hidupku initiative, which supports microbusiness clusters by providing training and selective infrastructure assistance. This initiative aims to accelerate MSME growth and enhance their competitiveness at both local and national levels.

BRI UMKM EXPO(RT) dan BRI Microfinance Outlook 2025 dibuka secara resmi di ICE BSD City, Tangerang, Kamis (30/1/2025). Acara yang diikuti oleh 1.000 UMKM terpilih ini berlangsung hingga Minggu, 2 Februari 2025. ()Source: BRI

BRI’s Commitment to MSME Empowerment

BRI President Director Sunarso reiterated the bank’s focus on MSME development, consistently working to expand and empower small businesses. This commitment is reflected in BRI’s allocation of IDR 1,106 trillion in loans to MSMEs, which accounts for 82% of the bank’s total loan portfolio of Rp 1,353 trillion as of September 2024.

Sunarso also noted that the integration of ultra-micro services through the Ultra Micro Holding initiative has broadened financial access for MSMEs. To date, BRI has provided loans to 50 million MSME clients, including 36 million ultra-micro borrowers.

“BRI’s research shows that MSME empowerment is not just about providing loans but also about offering mentorship and financial education to encourage savings. Currently, BRI serves over 180 million MSME savings accounts,” he added.

Key MSME Empowerment Programs by BRI

• AgenBRILink: A financial inclusion initiative involving small retailers acting as banking agents through digitalized business processes. The program has grown to 1.06 million agents, with a transaction volume of Rp 1,589 trillion.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto (center) with MPR Chairman Ahmad Muzani (third right) accompanied by BRI President Director Sunarso (second right), Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Kartiko Wirjoatmodjo (right), Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar (third left), Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati (second left) and Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Maman Abdurrahman placed a plaque to officially inaugurate the BRI UMKM Expo(RT) and BRI Microfinance Outlook 2025 events at the International Convention Exhibition (ICE) BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, Thursday (1/30/12025). Photo: Investortrust/Mohammad Defrizal ()

• Desa BRILiaN: A rural economic development program tailored to each village’s potential (e.g., tourism, handicrafts, agriculture). BRI currently supports 4,327 Desa BRILiaN villages.

• PARI: An integrated commodity platform facilitating ecosystem-based transactions. Currently, 85,298 users benefit from the platform.

• Klasterku Hidupku: A program fostering business clusters to enhance MSME competitiveness. BRI has supported 33,804 business clusters to date.

• LinkUMKM: An online platform designed to elevate Indonesian MSMEs through an integrated empowerment program, now serving 8.9 million users.

• Rumah BUMN: A state-owned enterprise (SOE) collaboration hub supporting MSME digital transformation. BRI operates 54 Rumah BUMN centers across Indonesia.

Through these initiatives, BRI continues to strengthen MSME resilience and promote sustainable economic growth, ensuring small businesses can thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.