Retail Boost for SMEs as Minimarts Will Be Told to Go Local
Jakarta. The Jakarta administration says it will compel operators of minimarts throughout the capital to sell items produced by small and medium enterprises, as part of efforts to empower the latter.
Saefullah, the city secretary, said on Friday that the administration did not have a problem with the mushrooming of minimarts — which critics say have pushed traditional markets further into irrelevance — as long as they supported local businesses.
“They should employ people in their communities and sell products made by SMEs. That way, these products will have room to compete against items typically sold in minimarts that are made by big corporations,” Saefullah told reporters at City Hall.
He said Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama would soon issue an instruction on the matter to all 2,254 minimarts operating within city limits.
Deputy Governor Djarot Syaiful Hidayat said minimarts had a responsibility to carry products made by local small businesses.
“If I were to walk into a minimart now, I wouldn’t find any products from SMEs based in Jakarta. Nothing from Kembangan or Kalideres or Cengkareng,” he said at City Hall. “This is what we need to address, so that the people of Jakarta know about the products made here.”
“I’ve said repeatedly that minimarts have an obligation to provide room on their shelves for the best products made in Jakarta.,” Djarot added.
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