Amartha Pockets 107 Billion Rupiah Funding, Deepen Access to Capital for Women Entrepreneurs

Startups p2p loans Amartha announced the acquisition of funding worth $7,5 million (equivalent to 107 billion Rupiah) from Norfund, the Norwegian government's investment fund for developing countries. These funds will be redistributed in the form of venture capital to empower more women micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas and encourage environmentally friendly business activities.

This collaboration was marked by the signing of a collaboration between the Norwegian Ambassador Vegard Kaale and Founder & CEO Amartha Andi Taufan Garuda Putra at the Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta, today (04/6).

Investment Director Norfund & Head of Asia Regional Office Fay Chetnakarnkul said, "Norfund cooperates and finances financial institutions to support them to be even stronger in providing access to capital and financial services to the micro-economic segment and segments of the economy. unbankable. “We really appreciate this collaboration with Amartha and the efforts they are making to empower women micro-entrepreneurs in Indonesia.”

Norwegian Ambassador Vegard Kaale added, although Indonesia's economic growth is very good, financial inclusion is still a big issue in the underprivileged segment of society, especially for women micro-entrepreneurs.

“Norfund is an important tool for the Norwegian Government to strengthen private institutions in developing countries, as well as reduce poverty. This funding is Norfund's first investment in a financial institution in Indonesia and I hope this effort will contribute to Amartha's growth and success.”

Chetnakarnkul also agrees with Kaale's statement. He said that it was hoped that the collaboration with Amartha would be a good start for Norfund's long-term commitment in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Taufan said that Norfund's support marked their confidence in Amartha's efforts to recover during the difficult times during this pandemic. “With guidance from Norway as a world leader in the renewable energy sector, Amartha hopes to gain knowledge and experience from the best.”

The inclusion of Norfund, is actually in line with the initiation initiated by Amartha since 2018 which began to actively participate in environmentally friendly activities by promoting environmental, social and corporate management or ESG by launching an annual impact and sustainability report. As a result, in the following year, Amartha won the GIIRS (Global Impact Investing Rating System) award from B-Corp with a Platinum rating.

Then, last year, the company initiated the Plastic Waste Womenpreneur (PWW) program by providing financing to women micro-entrepreneurs engaged in reducing plastic waste in villages.

To date, Amartha has managed to disburse more than Rp3,7 trillion in financing for 678.502 women in more than 18.900 villages spread across the islands of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

As a technology company, Amartha launches financial services and innovative products such as savings accounts, micro-insurance, and wholesale shopping that are tailored to the needs of the informal economy community. With this approach, Amartha wants to be a leading player for digital financial platforms for the village segment.

Earlier last month, Amartha also announced the acquisition of funding for $28 million or around 450 billion Rupiah, led by Women's World Banking (WWB) through WWB Capital Partners II and MDI Ventures, as well as two previous investors, namely Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI) and YOB Venture Management.