Financial literacy makes people “financially literate”, that is, they are able to understand methods for managing money, paying off debts, interest rates, insurance, retirement savings, taxes, and financial products such as credit/loans. Some of the real benefits of financial literacy for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), include forming long-term investments, choosing the right financial strategies and decisions, being responsible for the financial decisions taken, and influencing financial wealth. This was revealed by the Manager of the MSME Center for Region 2 Bank BJB, Sony Eko Hendarto. Sony conveyed the importance of financial literacy for all MSMEs in Indonesia at the Community Service (Pengmas) event for MSMEs in Depok City which took place on Tuesday, 5 December 2022 in the Floating Room, Universitas Indonesia (UI).
The community service program was chaired by Dr. Andreo Wahyudi Atmoko, is a program organized by the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Universitas Indonesia (FIA UI) in a triple helix collaboration: Depok City Government, Bank BJB, Indonesian Classification Bureau, and Madani National Capital.
“MSMEs are currently experiencing several challenges including access to financing/capital both from financial institutions and other sources, access to product marketing and business promotion for MSME players. In addition, there are also obstacles in the support of information technology that makes it easier for MSME actors to carry out business activities and financial transactions. The last one is trained human resources and good business management,” said Sony.
Furthermore, Sony said that businesses always experience upheaval and are not always stable, so recording is very important in managing MSMEs. This is intended so that MSME actors understand revenue and can analyze appropriate strategies to develop their businesses. Financial literacy, said Sony, is a method for managing money by understanding banking, investing, personal financial management, managing customers and utilizing this knowledge in everyday life.
“There are several accesses to capital to help fund your business, all of which are your own funds consisting of savings, asset sales, and inheritance; the second is investors; financial institutions such as banking, cooperatives, others; as well as other sources such as loans and others,” said Sony. At the end of the session, Sony emphasized to the 70 MSME actors present to be careful in seeking capital from online loan sources, which are currently experiencing many cases of fraud involving various walks of life.
