If Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama wanted to improve his image as a friend to the wong cilik (little people), he certainly accomplished that today with the announcement that the Jakarta Government would be handing out Rp 1 trillion in small business loans to the city’s “kaki lima” street vendors (PKL)
Under the program, each participating PKL will be given at least Rp 10 million and they will have one year to pay back the loan.
Governor Ahok said the program was put in place in case the economy does improve in the near future, providing a safety net for the city’s small-time entreprenuers.
“We are providing the loan money, so that if next year the economy is not good, the PKL will already have money because the loan amount could be multiplied through trade,” Ahok said at the programs signing ceremony in Kebayoran Baru, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Ahok said they had long had plans to do a similar loan program, but one that would’ve only been able to provide Rp 5 million in loans to PKL. But thanks to the Regional Credit Guarantee (Jamkrida) they will be able to provide a total of Rp1 trillion in funds that will be distributed to some 100,000 street vendors.
The president director of Bank DKI, Kresno Sediarsi, said PKL had to meet several requirements to apply for a loan, including having a proper Jakarta ID card and bank account as well as being registered with the Department of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.
