Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) praised the products produced by women customers of the Mekaar (Fostering a Prosperous Family Economy) program assisted by Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), a subsidiary of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. (BBRI). Jokowi assesses that these products have very good quality and will be able to compete with foreign products because the prices are very competitive.

“I was in front of buying trousers. How much did these trousers cost? I paid 15 thousand rupiah. What does that mean? This is very cheap and very competitive, and can really compete with other countries if the price is 15 thousand,” he said when visiting customers. PNM Mekaar at Keyongan Kidul Sabdodadi Field, Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region, Tuesday (30/01/2024).

Furthermore, Jokowi believes that the product in the form of batik pants will sell well if sold in markets such as Africa. The head of state pushed for these products to be exported in large quantities.

“The price is 15 thousand, which means 1 dollar will definitely sell, I give this guarantee. So that all African people wear batik pants,” he added.

Sumini Siti Aisyah, the seller of these trousers, has been a customer of PNM Mekaar since 2017. When met separately, she talked about how she was able to develop her business with a loan from PNM Mekaar of IDR 2 million.

“I started joining in 2017, the first ceiling was IDR 2 million, now it has reached IDR 9 million. Thank God, the business is growing,” he said.

“From the start, I moved, from Jakarta to the village to take care of my parents. So I was confused about starting a business. Finally, thank God, the convection started,” he continued.

As time went by, his business continued to grow until now he has a turnover of around IDR 5 million per week. After deducting Mekaar's installments, Sumini said that her net income was around IDR 1.5 million.

“Once a week it could be 5 (million) but it's dirty. Luckily it's around IDR 1.5 million. That's already deducted from the installments, so it's clean. It's not bad, it can help the family's economy, you need a lot,” he said.

Sumini also hopes that the Mekaar program can continue in the future even if the government changes. According to him, Mekaar has helped mothers in helping their families financially.

“Hopefully it will continue even if the president changes. It's really helpful for the economy of women like us. The problem is that if we borrow from someone it's not necessarily allowed. If it's like this, it's helped, the installments are rough, it's not too heavy either, the interest isn't too high, “Not like loan sharks,” he said.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(miq/miq)