Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono invited the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) in the Special Region of Yogyakarta to collaborate in strengthening the Village/Ward Cooperative (Kopdes) Merah Putih units. The event took place at the Forum Bisnis Daerah 2026 in Jogja Expo Center, Bantul, on Saturday (February 7, 2026). The initiative aims to meet villagers' basic needs while creating job opportunities for Generation Z and millennials.
At the Forum Bisnis Daerah 2026 organized by the Regional Board (BPD) of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) at Jogja Expo Center (JEC) in Bantul, Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono highlighted the role of Kopdes Merah Putih as a village economic services center. These business units are designed to meet residents' primary needs, such as grocery outlets, affordable medicines, clinic services, and savings-and-loans operations. Additionally, Kopdes Merah Putih manages warehousing and logistics distribution, and can develop other businesses based on local potential, including agriculture, fisheries, livestock, or tourism.
"In essence, village cooperatives become complete economic service centers close to the community. Therefore, we invite Hipmi Yogyakarta to synergize in strengthening the presence of Kopdes Merah Putih," Ferry stated.
Ferry assured that products from Hipmi Yogyakarta will be prioritized to stock Kopdes Merah Putih shelves. "Together with Hipmi, we will curate local Yogyakarta products and other local brands to quickly fill the goods in Kopdes Merah Putih," he said. The government acts as a regulator and facilitator, collaborating with strategic partners to develop modern cooperatives. This initiative cuts long supply chains, making distribution more efficient, prices more affordable, and improving the welfare of small business actors.
"By introducing Cooperative Hubs and Kopdes Merah Putih as connecting nodes, distribution becomes more efficient, prices more affordable, and the welfare of people's business actors improves," Ferry explained. Kopdes Merah Putih serves as a local economic hub that absorbs members' production, manages distribution, and performs downstreaming for higher value addition.
Furthermore, Ferry is preparing Kopdes Merah Putih as an alternative workplace for Generation Z and millennials. With a target of 80,000 village cooperatives across Indonesia, each unit will require managers and administrators, opening job opportunities for hundreds of thousands to millions of people. "This means we can help the government create employment, which is now greatly needed by Gen Z and millennials," he said.
The Ministry of Cooperatives will collaborate with Hipmi DIY to curate, incubate, and finance UMKM products and local brands from the youth. "We hope these cooperatives can be cooler, more contemporary, and more connected to the younger generation," he stated. Development will be decentralized, exploring potentials in sectors like agriculture and trade, involving local influencers and youth in marketing. Through Kopdes Merah Putih Hubs at the district/city level, products are marketed to state-owned enterprises, private sector, other cooperatives, and industries with financing support.
