Surabaya, East Java, April 29 -- Deputy Trade Minister Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri urged university students to help raise Indonesia's entrepreneurship ratio, aiming to strengthen youth contributions to the national economy.

"Indonesia must continue to push for a higher entrepreneurship ratio," she said on Wednesday.

She said the ratio stands at 3.29 percent of the workforce, or about 4.9 million entrepreneurs, below Malaysia's 4.74 percent, Singapore's 8.76 percent and the United States' 12 percent.

She said entrepreneurship ranges from franchise investment to creating new businesses, urging students to use university years to define their goals and contributions.

"Use this time for self-reflection and decide what changes you want to ...