TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati hopes that financial institutions such as banks can contribute to the success of the free nutritious meal program (MBG). She said that the Ministry of Finance, with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Bank Indonesia, has discussed the involvement of financial institutions in supporting President Prabowo Subianto's priority program.

According to Sri Mulyani, financial institutions can support the MBG through various financing programs or credit provisions. "If a company has received a purchasing order for free nutritious meals, they should be able to obtain credit for working capital as well as the ability to meet those needs," said Sri Mulyani in an official statement quoted on Friday, January 31, 2025.

The State Treasurer conveyed the statement after signaling the approval of an additional budget request for President Prabowo Subianto's flagship program amounting to Rp 100 trillion. In her calculations, the additional budget will serve as leverage for the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

According to her, the free nutritious meal program gives an opportunity that can be utilized by MSMEs. This program will involve various sectors, from food production and distribution, to labor in the culinary and logistics fields. Sri Mulyani also said preparing and distributing food needs will create employment opportunities.

"[MSMEs] centers will increase if the free nutritious meal budget gains an additional Rp100 trillion from Rp71 trillion, meaning the budget will be Rp171 trillion in total," said Sri Mulyani. This former managing director of the World Bank hopes that the program will generate a multiplier effect for small and medium enterprises throughout Indonesia.

"We will certainly continue to support, starting from the National Nutrition Agency as well as other ministries/agencies, to constantly adjust their programs to ensure the smooth running of this program and create strong equal distribution and management," Sri Mulyani added.

She also mentioned that the MBG program is a long-term investment that requires a large budget. The additional budget is motivated by the President's desire to achieve the target of beneficiaries, about 82.9 million people. Initially, the target beneficiaries were scheduled to be fulfilled by the end of 2025, but Prabowo requested to accelerate this to September 2025.

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