Gustia Milda, M. Rafi

Review of the Effectiveness of the Loan Interest Subsidy Program for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises by the Cooperative Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (UKM) Pekanbaru City

Introduction

Review of the effectiveness of the loan interest subsidy program for micro, small and medium enterprises by the cooperative office of small and medium enterprises (ukm) pekanbaru city. Pekanbaru's SME loan interest subsidy program is ineffective, facing issues like poor understanding, misaligned targets, slow distribution, and persistent bad credit, failing to bring real business change.

Abstract

The Pekanbaru City SME Cooperative Office holds a loan interest subsidy program that aims to support the implementation of the National Economic Recovery (PEN) program and assist business actors in running their businesses. In its implementation, business actors must take part by developing their business. But in reality, there are problems for business actors, namely the lack of quality of human resources, difficulties in realizing procedures and permits from the Government, the lack of capital owned by business actors and difficulties in obtaining loans. The research method used in this research was descriptive qualitative. Data collection techniques were carried out using interviews and documentation techniques. The data analysis technique in this research used Nvivo 12 Plus software using the theory of measuring program effectiveness by Sutrisno. The results of this study indicate that from the aspect of understanding the program for business actors, they do not fully understand and are able to deal with the consequences of late payment of loan interest subsidies. The right target indicator has not been able to achieve the objectives of the loan interest subsidy program because there is a Cost Budget Plan (RAB) that does not match the actual conditions. Timely indicators, which are quite slow in the process of distributing the loan interest subsidy program. Then the real change indicator found that the loan interest subsidy program has not been able to bring about changes because there are still many problems that occur such as bad credit, lack of responsiveness, short repayment times, and many who ask for unsecured. From these problems, it can be said that the loan interest subsidy program implemented has not been effective and has not been able to bring impact or change to the community as business actors.

Review

The study, "Review of the Effectiveness of the Loan Interest Subsidy Program for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises by the Cooperative Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (UKM) Pekanbaru City," addresses a critical and highly relevant topic: the efficacy of government support programs for MSMEs in the context of national economic recovery. Utilizing a descriptive qualitative approach with data collected through interviews and documentation, and analyzed with Nvivo 12 Plus guided by Sutrisno's program effectiveness theory, the research aims to assess how well this specific subsidy program achieves its objectives. The abstract clearly identifies a significant overarching finding: the program has largely failed to be effective, bringing minimal impact or change to business actors. This initial insight provides valuable feedback for policymakers and program implementers. While the study's aim is commendable, the abstract highlights several concerning issues that underscore the program's ineffectiveness and suggest areas where the research itself could be more robust. The findings indicate fundamental flaws across various effectiveness indicators: a lack of comprehensive understanding among business actors regarding program terms, particularly late payment consequences; an inability to achieve targeting objectives due to discrepancies between the Cost Budget Plan and actual conditions; significant delays in the distribution process; and a failure to generate real change, evidenced by persistent problems like bad credit, short repayment times, and demands for unsecured loans. Furthermore, the abstract notes pre-existing or concurrent challenges for business actors, such as poor human resource quality, bureaucratic hurdles, and capital scarcity, which implicitly underscore the program's inability to sufficiently mitigate these foundational issues. The abstract could benefit from a clearer articulation of how the Nvivo analysis specifically linked qualitative data to Sutrisno's theoretical framework, beyond just mentioning the software's use. To enhance the impact and rigor of this work, future research could delve deeper into the causal relationships between the identified business actor problems and the program's specific failures. For instance, exploring whether the lack of HR quality directly contributes to an inability to manage loan terms or engage with bureaucratic processes effectively would be beneficial. Recommendations for policy could be more explicitly detailed, suggesting concrete steps such as enhancing financial literacy training alongside subsidies, revising eligibility criteria to better match actual business needs, or streamlining disbursement procedures. Despite these areas for potential enhancement, the study provides a critical initial evaluation, offering crucial insights into the complexities of implementing MSME support programs. Its findings serve as an important call for the Pekanbaru City SME Cooperative Office to re-evaluate its program design, communication strategies, and implementation mechanisms to ensure greater effectiveness and real economic recovery for its target beneficiaries.

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