Foreign Investors Explore Opportunities to Support MBG Program
JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship program, Free Nutritious Meals (MBG), has received attention from foreign investors. Chairman of the National Economic Council (DEN) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that foreign parties are interested in supporting the implementation of the program, including the non-profit organization The Rockefeller Foundation based in the United States.
Luhut revealed that intensive discussions have been held with representatives of the Rockefeller Foundation in Bali and Jakarta. In fact, the Rockefellers have met directly with President Prabowo.
“They are very eager to support us, and we will discuss this program in detail,” said Luhut.
He emphasized that support from the philanthropic organization can help build an ecosystem and manage the MBG program more effectively. This program is expected to encourage social equality and help overcome the problems of stunting and poverty in Indonesia.
“With the interest of foreign investors and global philanthropy, it is hoped that the MBG program can run more optimally in improving the welfare and quality of Indonesia’s human resources,” said Luhut.
In terms of funding, Luhut is optimistic that the State Budget (APBN) is still sufficient to support the program.
“Funding is not a problem, I think our APBN is sufficient. What we need now is management,” he added.
Several experts believe that MBG should be positioned as a long-term investment in an effort to achieve the vision of Golden Indonesia 2045. Executive Director of the Center for Regional Studies and Information (Pattiro), Fitria Muslih emphasized that MBG is not just a political promise, but a human resource development strategy that must have clear achievement indicators.
“The government should see MBG as an investment to achieve Golden Indonesia, not just a political promise. This program must have measurable achievement indicators so that it does not just spend the budget without clear output,” said Fitria.
Meanwhile, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia, Medelina K. Hendytio, reminded that MBG should not be managed centrally.
“This program should be carried out in a participatory manner by involving existing institutions at the central and regional levels, such as Community Health Centers and village governments,” he said.
Previously, at the 2025 World Governments Summit held on February 14, 2025, President Prabowo emphasized that the MBG program was part of the grand vision of Golden Indonesia 2045.
“Providing nutritious food every day may seem simple, but when implemented in hundreds of thousands of schools, 330 thousand schools to be exact, from remote villages to busy city centers, it becomes a significant investment for our future,” said President Prabowo.
The government has allocated funds of IDR 71 trillion in the 2025 State Budget to support the implementation of this program. However, along with the acceleration of implementation ordered by President Prabowo, additional funds of IDR 100 trillion are still needed so that the coverage of recipients can reach 82.9 million people by the end of 2025.
As one of President Prabowo’s priority programs since the campaign period, MBG is estimated to require a budget of IDR 450 trillion per year assuming the price of one portion of food is IDR 15 thousand and the target recipients are 80 million people.
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