Jakarta, January 25, 2021 – Koperasi Simpan Pinjam (KSP) Sahabat Mitra Sejati expressed its commitment to support the economic recovery of the MSME sector this year in order to help national economic growth amid the still ongoing pandemic.

The first chairman of KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati, Ceppy Y. Mulyana believes that this year’s economic recovery is driven by the growth of the MSME and cooperative sectors. With the ability to adapt quickly to current conditions, the MSME sector and cooperatives can operate and improve their performance in order to support the economic progression in the regions. The strength of this adaptation needs to be supported by sustainable assistance and financing so that the MSME and cooperatives sectors can contribute optimally to the economic growth.

“Since the middle of last year, there has been a positive movement from cooperative members and MSME partners to revive their business operations and performance after being able to adapt to the current situation. We support these works by proactively providing assistance and financing to members and partners as needed by their businesses’ operations and performance,” he said in Jakarta.

As of September last year, KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati had more than 30 thousand members spread across the country. The majority of members are MSME entrepreneurs with a variety of businesses, including food and beverage, retail, health, agriculture, and construction. During the period of January to September last year, KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati has distributed loans of more than Rp2 trillion.

It’s been known that as one of the backbone of the national economy, the contribution of the MSME sector to national GDP this year is expected to come at 62.36 percent while the cooperatives come at 5.2 percent. The expected contribution is supported by an allocation of the National Economic Recovery Program (PEN) amounting to Rp63.84 trillion. The funds will be used for subsidizing people’s business credit (KUR), financing support for MSMEs, guaranteeing working capital loans, and funding reserves.

In realizing this commitment, KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati has partnered with Bank Sahabat Sampoerna (Bank Sampoerna). This strategic partnership has been going on since 2012. The bank, which is owned by the Sampoerna Strategic and the Alfa Group, has chosen to focus on serving MSMEs. As a strategic partner, besides having operational cooperation, Bank Sampoerna also provides liquidity support for KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati. Even more, Bank Sampoerna also shares expertise and technical knowledge so that KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati has the ability to manage risk, managerial skill, and representative technology in supporting business activities and can compete with other financial institutions in Indonesia. In terms of lending, up to November 2020, Bank Sampoerna has disbursed loans of more than Rp8 trillion, dominated by the MSME segment, reaching approximately 60 percent of the total loans.

Director of Bank Sahabat Sampoerna, Rudy Mahasin said that his party will support its partner KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati in helping the MSME and cooperatives sectors to recover and maximize performance in order to positively contribute to the national economy. With the ability to adapt to the current situation, the MSME and cooperatives sectors can again find a new balance in spurring business performance.

“We will fully support in terms of financing to strengthen the recovery of the current MSME and cooperatives sectors through our strategic partners, one of which is KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati. This commitment is in line with our vision to support the growth of the MSME sector in any condition. We believe that KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati can translate the principles of prudence and side with MSMEs in a proportional manner,” he said.

KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati is also one of the cooperatives that has transformed into digital through SOBATKU, an online saving product that provides modern services to its members in conducting financial transactions. SOBATKU is one of KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati’s flagship products.

SOBATKU was launched to coincide the 70th Cooperative Day on July 12, 2017. SOBATKU continues to strive to provide the best service to its members in conducting financial transactions, especially saving. Members can save easily via their smartphone without leaving their houses.

Special on January 26, a Grand Prize raffle will be held as an appreciation for the loyalty of KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati’s members who continue to save at SOBATKU. The main prize to be drawn is a balance of 100 million rupiah and 4 umrah packages (each worth 25 million rupiah), as well as hundreds of other prizes. In addition, there are also PUTAR SAMPE MENANG program prizes using the spin wheel with a total prize of 10 million Rupiah, which can be followed by members and prospective members by filling in the link http://bit.ly/PUTERSAMPEMENANG. Make sure to watch the SOBATKU Grand Prize Draw via Instagram @sobatku_id at 14:00 – finished (*)