REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or BRI as the bank with the largest SME loan portfolio in Indonesia, this year will remain focused on SMEs, especially related to empowerment. Until the end of December 2023, BRI's credit distribution to MSMEs reached IDR 1,068.7 trillion.

Earlier, at the Financial Services Industry Annual Meeting 2024 (20/2/2024), President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) asked financial services industry to continue to keep Indonesia's economy inclusive and sustainable amid a volatile geopolitical situation.

The President encouraged the financial services industry to contribute to the growth of SMEs through increased access to capital. “Equally important is our support to MSMEs through banking and insurance. Banking credit for SMEs is currently still 19 percent, this needs a breakthrough, there needs to be a strategy so that there is an increase in banking credit to SMEs so that we can see SMEs grow well,” he said.

In this regard, BRI has targeted SME credit growth strategy at 11-12 percent by 2024. “If now, BRI grows its credit by 11.2 percent, then BRI wants to continue to grow aggressively in 2024, namely around 11-12 percent,” said President Director of BRI, Sunarso.