Twenty banks convened at a conference on "Better Access to Finance through SME Banking" in Jakarta’s Dharmawangsa hotel on July 27. The conference’s goal was to help promote greater access to finance for small and medium enterprises in Indonesia by working with commercial banks and other key stakeholders to create better conditions for SME lending.
Government officials included the Director of Financial Institutions Directorate for Banks and Financial Services Ngalimin, who was representing Minister of Finance; the Head of Short Term Fund of the Department of Cooperatives and SME, Ir. Safrial; and the Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Siti Ch. Fadjrijah who emphasized the importance of fostering SME growth by commercial banks.
The conference coincided with the launch of the SME Enhanced Lending Facility, a collaborative effort between IFC Global Financial Markets and IFC-PENSA. The project will feature a large SME credit line that will be channeled through commercial financial institutions, as well as technical assistance for partner banks.
“We would like to act as a catalyst to financial institutions so that they in turn are motivated to provide additional funds for SMEs,” explained IFC’s Director for Global Financial Markets, Jyrki Koskelo. “Since IFC will also give banks in Indonesia the necessary skills and support to go into the SME market, it provides the opportunity for banks to show how they can help SMEs in Indonesia grow.”
