Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Teten Masduki, revealed that the shared production houses are a government initiative aimed at promoting the downstreaming of MSME products and enhancing their capacity.

Teten explained that shared production houses, which are modern factories with an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) scheme, have the potential to increase the scale of MSME businesses, as they do not operate independently but are integrated into a larger production chain.

"We need to integrate MSMEs into the industrial supply chain, as seen in China and Japan, where 70 percent of exports come from MSMEs because they are involved in the industrial supply chain," said Teten in Soreang, Bandung Regency, West Java, on Monday (10/23/2023).

In 2023, the government targets the construction of eight shared production houses across Indonesia as pilot projects. Teten also revealed that the investment for each unit ranges from IDR 13 billion to IDR 15 billion. Currently, some projects are still in the construction phase, with the hope that some of them will be completed by the end of the year.

One of the initial eight shared production houses is located in Garut, with a focus on leather fashion production, aiming to produce products on par with Italian-made goods. In the future, Teten also plans to establish a shared production house in Cibaduyut, focusing on the footwear sector.

Teten emphasized that each region has different potential, and this effort aims to prepare MSMEs to produce a variety of high-quality products that can compete in the global market.

According to Teten, the downstreaming initiative through shared production houses is also key to making Indonesia an advanced country by 2045. It can help MSME entrepreneurs enhance their business capacity and product quality, with the potential to add up to one million new entrepreneurs.

Regarding the management of shared production houses, Teten explained that cooperatives will oversee the facilities after they are built by the central government and handed over to local authorities.

Bey Triadi Machmudin, Acting Governor of West Java, also highlighted this initiative and plans to conduct an inspection in Cibaduyut. He hopes that with more shared production houses, the quality of MSME products will further improve, making them stronger competitors on the global stage.