Head of PMU Certification at Surveyor Indonesia, Afrinal (second from the left), symbolically hands over halal certificates to representatives of small and medium enterprises in the presence of Commercial Director of Surveyor Indonesia, Saifuddin Wijaya (far left), Telkom Deputy EVP of State-Owned Enterprises Service, Fajar Wibawa (second from the right), and SM of Telkom's BUMN House, Adrian Sani Harahap, in Jakarta recently. 

Jakarta, 28 November 2023 - In pursuit of national competitiveness, PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (Telkom) consistently supports its small and medium enterprises partners to compete nationally and internationally. To achieve this, Telkom collaborates with Surveyor Indonesia to facilitate 248 small and medium enterprises under Telkom's BUMN House to get halal certificates. A symbolic handover of the halal certificates took place at PT Surveyor Indonesia's headquarters in Jakarta, attended by Assistant Deputy for Social and Environmental Responsibility at the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, Edi Eko Cahyono, and Commercial Director of PT Surveyor Indonesia, Saifuddin Wijaya. Telkom Deputy EVP of State-Owned Enterprises Service Division, Fajar Wibawa, and the Head of Halal Registration & Certification Center at Halal Product Certification Agency (BPJPH), Hj. Siti Aminah, M.Pd.I, along with other distinguished guests were also in attendance.

"Certification is divided into two categories, some are free and some are regular. But thousands fall into the regular category. However, it is crucial to ensure that the halal certification process aligns with the President of Indonesia's mandate," Head of Halal Registration and Certification Center at BPJPH, Siti Aminah, said. 

Halal certification is expected to be a strategic tool for Indonesian small and medium enterprises to penetrate the global market, as it can serve as a competitive advantage for Indonesia in international markets. The government recognized the economic potential of small and medium enterprises, and the government acknowledges halal-certified small and medium enterprises in the omnibus Law on Job Creation and Law Number 33 Year 2014. However, establishing halal-certified small and medium enterprises requires several stages, with cost being a significant obstacle for many small and medium enterprises. According to GAPMMI (Association of Indonesian Food and Beverage Producers) data, there are 1.6 million small food and beverage industry players, with only 10% granted halal certificates. This data reflects the significant number of small and medium enterprises in Indonesia that are not yet halal-certified.

In line with this, the government, through the BPJPH, has set a target of issuing 10 million halal certificates by 2024. Therefore, the support of all parties is expected to expedite the achievement of this target, as halal certification is linked to various aspects including hygiene, business, international trade, market, reputation, and other global issues. 

During the same event, Telkom Deputy EVP of SOE Service, Fajar Wibawa, said that this activity is a manifestation of Telkom Indonesia's commitment to community welfare through the TJSL Go Modern program, including supporting small and medium enterprises with licensing and certification. "We hope that through this program, we can accelerate the small and medium enterprises quality improvement to compete globally and realize Indonesia as the digital hub of Asia," Fajar said. In 2022, Telkom supported 249 small and medium enterprises with halal certification. By 2023, at least 497 small and medium enterprises have received halal certification assistance from Telkom. It is expected that this number will continue to increase, allowing halal-certified small and medium enterprises products to be more competitive to meet domestic consumer needs.

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