UAD Management Equips Students with Entrepreneur and Cooperative Skills

The number of cooperatives in Indonesia is of the highest in the world with 212,315 cooperatives. However, in terms of quality, they are still far from expectations. This is indicated by the low cooperative impact on Indonesia's gross domestic product which is around 4.48%.

Although there is a tendency for it to increase, it is still lacking, considering the ideals of cooperative as Saka Guru (foundation) of Indonesian economy. Out of the 200 thousand cooperatives in Indonesia, only 3 of them are included in the 300 major cooperatives of the world. According to the International Cooperative Consultant (ICA), 3 of them are Koperasi Warga Semen Gresik (KWSG), Kospin Jasa, and Koperasi Karyawan Telkomsel (KISEL).

The contribution of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) to the Indonesian economy reaches 60%. However, UMKM still have to face various challenges, such as access to capital, marketing, management, licensing, to competing with big investors.

In terms of management, not many UMKM have a clear legal entity. Thus, many UMKM still cannot be reached by financing institution (bankable). The government has provided a solution with the existence of Small Micro Business License (IUMK) so that UMKM can be accessed by financial institution. However, it still needs to be socialized more intensively.

Looking at these problems, Management study program of Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Ahmad Dahlan University (UAD) held a national seminar on cooperatives and UMKM with the headline "Realizing World-Class Cooperatives and UMKM".

Present as the speakers were Drs. Setyo Heriyanto, M.M. as the Director of Financial Services Cooperative (LSP KJK) Jakarta, Dr. Purwoko, S.E., M.M. who is a Management lecturer from UAD, as well as the Head of the Association of Pati Cooperatives, and Drs. Tri Saktiyana, M.Si. who also serves as the Head of Department of Cooperatives and UMKM DIY.

The event which took place on Saturday (7/4/2018) at the auditorium of campus 1 UAD on Jln. Kapas 9, Semaki, Yogyakarta aimed to discuss strategies for managing cooperatives and UMKM that would be beneficial to the welfare of the community. In addition, it served as a medium for socialization of the policy of empowerment of cooperatives and UMKM by the government and related parties. For students, the event became a means of learning about entrepreneurship and cooperatives. (ard / doc)