Modernization key to attracting youngsters to village co-ops: minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono stated that modernization is key to attracting the younger generation to participate actively in the development of the Red and White Village Cooperatives.”To attract youngsters, apart from rebranding, we must also prove that cooperatives will be managed in a modern way,” he said here on Monday.In this regard, he explained that the village cooperatives will be encouraged to adopt digital management systems, uphold financial transparency, and utilize technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.Juliantono stated that his ministry has also prepared a mentoring ecosystem that includes business mentors, project management officers (PMOs), a prosecution-based supervisory system, and the village cooperative management information system (Simkopdes).He further said that the Ministry of Cooperatives has recruited 1,104 PMOs stationed across 38 provinces and 514 districts and cities, as well as 8,000 business mentors to assist cooperative managers.Workers of village cooperatives will also be provided with training to improve their capacity and competency in cooperative management.As of the end of October 2025, a total of 82,320 Red and White Village Cooperatives have been established across Indonesia, with hundreds of them already operational.The government is currently targeting all the village cooperatives to become operational in March 2026, in line with the acceleration of infrastructure construction, such as outlets and warehouses.As outlined in Presidential Instruction Number 17 of 2025, the infrastructure construction is funded by the state budget, regional budget, as well as other sources.According to the minister, the village cooperatives could potentially create up to 1 million jobs by the end of December 2025, with each cooperative able to create 20 to 25 jobs from various businesses of the cooperative.President Prabowo Subianto officially launched around 80 thousand village cooperatives nationwide under the Red and White Village Cooperatives program in Klaten District, Central Java, on July 21.The cooperatives are envisaged as hubs of economic and social services in village communities, offering savings, loans, and clinic services, among others.