The Indonesian government and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) here on Tuesday (2 September) officially launched a US$19 million programme to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the eastern part of Indonesia.
The Programme for Eastern Indonesia SME Assistance (PENSA), a five-year technical assistance programme, is co-funded by the IFC and the governments of Australia, Japan, Switzerland and Netherlands.
The programme was officially launched by Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, Alimarwan Hanan, followed by the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) by the general manager of Indonesia Enterprise Development Facility (IEDF), Chris Richards, and representatives of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Dharma Bhakti Astra Foundation, which are to assist the IFC in implementing the programme.
