JAKARTA (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection has outlined various strategies and initiatives to increase women’s economic empowerment through entrepreneurship.
“The policy aims to highlight women’s significant contribution to the national economy through entrepreneurship and to enable them to effectively manage and lead businesses,” the ministry’s acting gender equality officer Indra Gunawan said in a statement on Thursday.
He made these remarks at a joint meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Women and Trade in Arequipa, Peru.
Gunawan stressed that through the Penta Helix collaborative approach, Indonesia is engaging ministries, civil society, the private sector, academics and the media to jointly create an enabling environment that promotes women’s participation in global trade markets and supply chains.
As part of the implementation of a presidential decree, Indonesia has strengthened recognition of women-owned businesses by creating a specific definition for them.
In 2020, the government launched the National Strategy on Women’s Financial Inclusion (SNKI-P) to increase women’s access to finance.
The initiative aims to ensure all women have access to information, skills, resources and economic opportunities.
In this regard, the Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion Coalition (IKDP) was formed, followed by the signing of a joint commitment to achieve women’s digital financial inclusion in 2023, highlighting the government’s role in increasing women’s access to digital technologies.
Additionally, the initiative aims to promote the importance of disaggregated data in the financial sector as well as encourage collaborative efforts among relevant ministries, financial authorities and the private sector.
The ministry also introduced the Guidelines on Women’s Digital Transformation and Guidelines on Women Entrepreneurship from a Gender Perspective, which suggest gender mainstreaming strategies in digital transformation and women entrepreneurship development.
“These guidelines are expected to enable stakeholders to formulate policies that focus on gender inequality in entrepreneurship, particularly in terms of financial access and digital adoption,” Gunawan said.
He also informed about one of the major initiatives of the Department of Women Friendly Parenting and Village Development (DRPPA) which aims to accelerate the implementation of women empowerment, gender equality and child protection strategies at the grassroots level.
The program prioritizes developing and strengthening basic entrepreneurial infrastructure for women, starting from the village level.
There are currently 138 pilot villages in 71 districts and 33 states, which will be replicated across the country.
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Translated by Anita Permata Dewi, Catriona
Editor: Anton Santoso
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