Trying to Survive in the Middle of a Pandemic, Thousands of MSMEs Got Inspired from This Free Activity

Jakarta, July 19, 2020 - The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is undeniable, the pandemic also impacts MSMEs in Indonesia. Declining sales, turnover plummeting to minus finance is often a challenge for SMEs today. However, there are more than 2,300 MSMEs who have been inspired to survive in the midst of this pandemic through a series of free workshops held by Pertamina.

VP Corporate Communication of Pertamina, Fajriyah Usman, explained that the workshop was held from April to July 2020 online through Rumah Kreatif BUMN (RKB) managed by Pertamina in several locations.

"Pertamina is concerned about the condition of this pandemic, which has impacted MSMEs, especially our fostered partners. However, we have the spirit of going forward and optimizing the workshop programs to motivate and improve the skills of MSMEs, so they can continue to run their businesses," she said.

Fajriyah said, during the last four months, Pertamina had held around 30 workshops participated by 2,393 MSMEs for free. The themes presented were various, such as Tips for Surviving in the COVID-19 Era, Online Marketing, Branding, Business Skills, and Financial Management.

"Pertamina is currently coordinating 29 RKB, where each RKB can hold a free workshop that can be attended by MSMEs from other RKB. Thus, the opportunity for knowledge that can be obtained by MSMEs to develop their skills can be very broad. From there, they can get motivation and new insights in running their business during this pandemic," she added.

This activity received tremendous enthusiasm from the participants. Yayan, a vegetable entrepreneur in Dumai, participated in a free online workshop from RKB Ogan Ilir said, "This training provided inspiration and insight for me to make the vegetable business grow with the material provided. Honestly, I have been waiting for this kind of knowledge for a long time. It inspires my passion for running a business better," he said.

The same enthusiasm was also conveyed by Nova Rahmayatni, who attended a workshop from RKB Berau on business management. "This training is very useful because the AutoPilot system is needed at this time. With this training, I became more and more enthusiastic about developing my business. Thank you, Pertamina RKB, especially Pertamina Berau RKB, for guiding and helping me. Alhamdulillah, a blessing. " she concluded.

Likewise, Mega Lusiyana, a MSME entrepreneur from Situbondo who participated in a workshop on Collaboration between MSMEs. "Thank you to Pertamina RKB for providing me with knowledge about the collaborative movement between MSMEs. I came to understand how to collaborate with fellow MSMEs and want to do that immediately," she said excitedly.

To note, Pertamina does have a Partnership Program that aims to support Indonesia's MSMEs in developing their business. Not only in the distribution of business capital loan assistance, but Pertamina also accompanied business in some aspects such as workshops, publications to promotions such as exhibitions both at home and abroad.

This Partnership Program is a form of the company's commitment to continue developing with the people of Indonesia who have the spirit to move forward. Information to become a Pertamina SME partner can be seen through Pertamina's website https://pertamina.com/en/program- partnership or contact Contact Pertamina 1500 000.**