Ministry of MSMEs Oversees Economic Recovery in Disaster-Hit Sumatra

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is overseeing the economic recovery of communities affected by disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra through an economic rehabilitation program to be implemented gradually through 2028.

Minister of MSMEs Maman Abdurrahman said the recovery efforts are not only aimed at providing assistance during the initial post-disaster phase, but also at ensuring the sustainability of local businesses so economic activity in affected areas can resume and grow.

“The President gave me a specific message that assistance and support for economic recovery in these three provinces should not end at the initial stage. We must focus on ensuring continuous economic recovery through 2028,” Maman said during the Kick-Off of the Socialization of the Sumatra Disaster-Affected Economic Recovery Program and Activities, held online on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.

The event was attended by representatives of regional governments from the three provinces, including the governors of North Sumatra and West Sumatra, the Deputy Governor of Aceh, as well as regents, mayors, and relevant agency heads.

Maman said the central government would continue to support regional governments in the economic recovery process for disaster-affected communities.

He also apologized for the approximately one-and-a-half-month delay in the implementation of the program. The adjustment was made as the economic recovery phase began and the government adjusted its budget mechanisms.

“It is important to understand that the economic recovery phase has only begun in recent months, partly due to adjustments to the budgeting mechanism. However, we assure you that we remain fully committed to implementing the program,” he said.

Based on data from the Ministry of MSMEs, more than 498,000 MSMEs across 50 regencies and cities and 4,310 villages in the three provinces were affected by the disasters. The figure comprises around 285,000 MSMEs in Aceh, 117,000 in North Sumatra, and 95,000 in West Sumatra.

To address the impact, the government has prepared a phased budget and recovery targets over three years. In 2026, more than 618 billion rupiahs has been allocated to support more than 212,000 MSMEs.

The program will continue in 2027 with a budget of more than 622 billion rupiahs targeting more than 215,000 MSMEs. Meanwhile, in 2028, the government has allocated more than 21 billion rupiahs to support more than 11,000 MSMEs.

Maman emphasized the importance of data accuracy and synchronization to ensure the recovery program reaches the right beneficiaries. Data on prospective beneficiaries verified by regional governments will be integrated through the SAPA UMKM platform as the basis for program implementation and connection with other empowerment programs.

“Whatever has been approved by the regents, mayors, and governors is what we will receive and enter into SAPA UMKM. SAPA UMKM is not intended to reject the data, but rather to review whether the submitted data meets the criteria we have established,” Maman said.

The data integration is also expected to create a dynamic database, allowing the conditions and needs of affected MSMEs to be continuously updated. This will enable government support to continue through development and empowerment programs tailored to the needs of each business owner.

With the 2026 budget year implementation period becoming increasingly limited, the Ministry of MSMEs has asked provincial, regency, and city governments to accelerate the submission and verification of prospective beneficiaries. The submission of data through the SAPA UMKM portal is targeted to be completed no later than September 14, 2026.

“Our time is very limited until December. I ask for the full cooperation and support of the governors, regents, and mayors. Let us complete the data verification on time so that assistance can be disbursed promptly and the regional economy can regain momentum,” Maman said.