COORDINATING MINISTRY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

PRESS RELEASE
HM.4.6/188/SET.M.EKON.3/4/2022

 Coordinating Minister Airlangga: Acceleration of Financial Inclusion to Achieve Higher, Inclusive, and Equitable Economic Growth

Jakarta, April 7th, 2022

The government continues to encourage financial inclusion and improve coordination and synergy with all stakeholders, so that efforts to generate higher, inclusive, and equitable economic growth can be achieved.

The Government's quick response in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic succeeded in increasing Indonesia's economic growth by 3.69% yoy in 2021 and increasing GDP per capita to a level of Rp62,2 million (USD 4,349.5) and bringing Indonesia back to upper-middle income country.

In line with this, a number of economic indicators in 2022 show good prospects, including the Consumer Confidence Index which remains strong or is in an optimistic area and shows improvement in domestic demand. Then, manufacturing activity persisted in an expansionary phase which indicated an improvement in production activity. As well as the prospect of economic growth improving by 5.2% yoy in 2022.

The global economy in 2022 is projected to continue the trend of national economic recovery. One of the sources of new economic growth is the use of digital technology in economic activity.

"Acceleration of the digital economy is one of the main strategies for economic transformation in accelerating the national economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, and this is also the central theme of the G20, namely economic transformation in the digital sector," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto when virtually delivering his keynote speech at the Webinar for Acceleration of Digital Financial Inclusion to Encourage National Economic Growth organized by BeritaSatu Media Holdings, Thursday (7/04).

The development of the digital economy takes advantage of the shift in people's behaviour in various sectors, including the financial sector, which has made it easier for the public to conduct financial transactions quickly and efficiently, therefore accelerating the circulation of money. This is a momentum for accelerating financial digitalization that has the potential to accelerate financial inclusion.

Financial inclusion in Indonesia continues to increase. In 2021 the level of financial inclusion in Indonesia increased, compared to the previous year and reached 83.6%. This number of financial inclusion developments was followed by a significant growth in the ownership and use of bank accounts which also increased to 65.4% in 2021.

The percentage of adults who have bank accounts in urban areas is higher than in rural areas. However, the growth in ownership is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. In rural areas, bank agents and BUMDes have contributed to a significant increase in account ownership and the distribution of assistance from the Government has also contributed. In 2020, recipients of Government assistance programs increased to 40.8%. Meanwhile, the use of electronic money increased 2.5 times to 11.7% in 2021.

"The existence of Bank agents, technology infrastructure, and the distribution of government assistance contributed to the development of digital technology, which accelerates financial inclusion in Indonesia," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

In addition, the public's digital literacy is an important point in encouraging the acceleration of financial inclusion through the use of digital technology. The government provides support for the development of digital skills from basic to advance through the National Digital Literacy Movement, Digital Talent Scholarship, and the Digital Leadership Academy.

The government also continues to encourage the digitalization of MSMEs to increase productivity and facilitate financing for entrepreneurs, especially through the KUR program. In response to high financing needs, the Government has also increased the KUR ceiling to Rp373,1 trillion in 2022.

Digitalization has provided new options for the public to gain access to financing. This benefit will encourage increased financial inclusion so that there will be an increase in overall economic activity.

"Overall, the Government continues to encourage financial inclusion and improve coordination and synergy with all stakeholders, so that efforts to generate higher, inclusive and equitable economic growth can be achieved," concluded Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

The event were also attended by the Minister of Communication and Information of the Republic of Indonesia and the Director of BeritaSatu Media Holdings. (dlt/dft/alr/fsr)

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Bureau of Communications, Information Services, and Meetings
Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia
Haryo Limanseto

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