Founder and CEO of Amartha, Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, at a press conference in Jakarta (05/21), stated, “Many MSMEs do not have access to financial services, difficult to get loans because they do not have collateral, and have inadequate credit history.”
Heaptalk, Jakarta — MSMEs are the backbone of the Indonesian economy which contributes 61% of GDP with labor absorption reaching 97% in 2023. However, around 90% of MSMEs experience challenges in scaling up their business.
Founder and CEO of Amartha, Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, during the press conference in Jakarta (05/21), stated, “Many MSMEs do not have access to financial services, they find difficulties to get loans because they do not have collateral and have inadequate credit history.”
In terms of women’s empowerment, Christina Juhasz, Chief Investment Officer of Women’s World Banking Asset Management (WAM) also believes that there is an injustice in credit score assessment for women which was conducted by traditional bank.
She conveyed that when applying for credit, banks do not only see women as potential candidates for paying credit. Therefore, they require the intervention of their husbands or men. So, in the credit process, men’s data and their consent must be included. In this case, the lenders’ assessments did not objectively look at women’s ability to pay their obligations.
Perceiving the various challenges encountered by MSME players, especially for women, Amartha together with Women’s World Banking, SME Finance Forum and Accion organized The 2024 Asia Grassroots Forum. Hosted by Amartha, this forum invites investors, entrepreneurial innovators and policy makers to accelerate the potential of grass root economics in Asia. Taking place on 21-22 May in Jakarta, this forum facilitates innovation in technology and finance by involving global institutions in impact investing.
“I invite society to join and collaborate on a common agenda, namely improving impact, digitalizing MSMEs, and encouraging inclusive economic growth for equitable prosperity,” he added.
