Jakarta. Hibank, the subsidiary of the state-owned bank BNI, recently launched #everydayhiro campaign to empower Indonesian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The launch of this campaign also coincided with the National Heroes Day. 

"With this #everydayhiro campaign, Hibank aims to uplift the heroic spirit that our company does on behalf of the heroes, especially the MSMEs, to contribute to the national economic growth. Hibank wants its presence to help MSMEs develop their businesses to be bigger and better," Jenny Wiriyanto, the president director at Hibank, was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

According to Jenny, MSMEs account for about 66 percent of the national gross domestic product and absorb almost 99 percent of the Indonesian workforce. … We wish to make #everydayyhiro a momentum to create more economic heroes to drive Indonesia's growth," Jenny said.

MSMEs today face many challenges ranging from product marketing, access to production materials, and cash flow management, among others. Not many MSMEs have access to banking services. According to the Financial Services Authority (OJK), only 36 percent of MSMEs have access to formal banking services. 

"Hibank's efforts to increase funding allocation and provide digital banking services that are relevant to the needs of MSMEs is an important step in improving financial inclusion, especially for unbanked MSMEs that have the potential to grow. We are also committed to being partners in connecting with solutions and service providers and services needed by MSMEs through the formation and empowerment of ecosystems so that we can help answer challenges in developing MSME businesses," Jenny said.

"This is what prompted us to introduce Hibank's role as an orchestrator of the Indonesian MSME ecosystem," she added.

The latest data shows that the entity formerly known as Bank Mayora has allocated funding to MSMEs. As of October, Hibank had distributed 31.8 percent of its total credit to MSMEs, or approximately Rp 1.74 trillion.

This achievement is in line with Hibank's plan to increase the portion of credit distribution to the MSME segment to 45 percent in 2024.

According to BNI corporate secretary Okki Rushartomo, digital is the future of banking. BNI vows to make sure that every customer gets an integrated financial solution every day.

"With Hibank, we wish to level up MSMEs by giving them access to a more efficient and comprehensive banking service," Okki said.