BUMDes Sports Business is Expected to Be the Driver of Rural Social and Economic Development
DEPOK – (21/82021) The Institute for Economic and Community Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration held a webinar titled “BUMDes Sports Business: Building the National Economy and Football from the Village” on Thursday (19/8/2021).
This webinar was attended by Teguh Dartanto, Ph.D., Acting Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia as the keynote speaker, Budi Arie Setiadi, Deputy Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration, Komjen. Pol. (Ret.) Dr. Drs. H. Mochamad Iriawan, S.H., M.H. PSSI General Chair, Dewa Gede Sumertha, SH, MH, Batubulan Village Head, Gianyar, Bali, and Yudi Cahyudin, Cisayong Village Head, Tasikmalaya, Akmal Marhali, Save Our Soccer Coordinator, and Mohamad D. Revindo, Ph.D., Center for the Study of Business Climate LPEM FEB UI as a webinar speaker. In general, this webinar discussed the opportunities and challenges of the sports facilities business, early childhood soccer coaching from the village, and sports as a social glue for the community.
In the opening session, Teguh Dartanto conveyed how Indonesia would rely on villages in developing and advancing Indonesia. However, problems such as poverty in rural areas are still unresolved. Since 2000, the proportion of rural poverty on average has always been higher than that of urban areas. In 2020, the percentage of the rural poor reached 13.2%, while for the urban population it was only 7.9%. Therefore, efforts to equalize rural and urban economic development are very important, where it is hoped that there will be an important role in the distribution of village funds and the development of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes). In this regard, the government has shown its commitment by disbursing large amounts of village funds. In 2018, the central government budgeted village funds of Rp 60 trillion. This figure increased to Rp70 trillion in 2019 and again increased to Rp72 trillion in 2021. “The results of our research at LPEM in 2020, last year, which tried to look at the light data from the sun and count the lights in the village, showed that village funds is an important part of the national economic recovery process during the COVID-19 crisis.” Teguh Dartanto said.
He also added that BUMDes is expected to be one of the driving forces of the rural economy in Indonesia because BUMDes has as its main strength ownership by the village government on the basis of village deliberation; in contrast to cooperatives owned by its members or SMEs owned by individuals or groups of people. Even so, from about 75 thousand villages in Indonesia, only about 45 thousand villages have BUMDes. 15 thousand of them have registered with the Ministry of Villages, but those with running businesses is less than 5 thousand. This means that the role of BUMDes has not yet been optimal in an effort to build the Indonesian economy. “So creative ideas are needed to develop BUMDes businesses. BUMDes business ideally does not compete with villagers. On the other hand, BUMDes businesses must strengthen the business ecosystem and create new businesses that can encourage economic turnover in the village.” said Teguh Dartanto.
In relation to sports, Teguh said that there are several BUMDes that manage soccer fields. For this reason, infrastructure support is needed from the Ministry of Villages and PSSI endorsements for soccer schools and coaching clinics to develop BUMDes that manage soccer fields and increase the enthusiasm of soccer school participants. “This is a good opportunity for the Ministry of Villages and PSSI to become an important part of BUMDes and football fields in the village. Good management of BUMDes and football fields in villages can give birth to new talents or young football players,” added Teguh Dartanto.
Furthermore, from the football/soccer side, there is the Presidential Instruction No. 3 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of National Football Development, which conveys support for the construction of soccer fields in all regions in Indonesia and the development of early childhood soccer players. When linked to BUMDes, there is an enormous potential for impact. Football can be a positive activity for the younger generation, as well as entertainment and social cohesion, as well as a place for nurturing players’ talents. “Hopefully this webinar can be the beginning of a synergy between the government, in this case the Ministry of Villages PDTT, village governments, BUMDes directors, PSSI, academics, and private parties in building football and the national economy starting from the village economy.” Teguh Dartanto concluded.
(am)