Nusa Dua, Bali (ANTARA) – The Archipelagic and Island States Summit (AIS Summit) Forum 2023 has supported small businesses and human resource (HR) development in island and archipelagic countries across the world.”The AIS Forum has supported the expansion of more than 500 startups,” Senior Advisor on Climate Governance in the UN Agency for the Development Program (UNDP) Indonesia Abdul Wahib Situmorang stated here on Saturday. Situmorang remarked that support for small business actors includes providing support to the 500 startups through funding and capacity development, such as training, workshops, and bringing together business people with potential partners and others. Several collaborations were also carried out, including providing support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by facilitating more than 1,500 MSME activists ranging from women, youth, and people with disabilities in developing entrepreneurship. In addition, scholarships are currently valued at around US$430 thousand. “Then, we also provide research assistance to researchers and academics, which to date has reached US$204,500 and produced output that we have also used as a model in other AIS countries,” he stated. Meanwhile, Situmorang remarked that in the entrepreneurship sector, the AIS Forum has provided initial capital of US$185 thousand to various startups to develop innovative solutions that can be a model from one participating country to another.

Source: Antara News Agency