Mekar and Komida Cooperate to Expand Sources of Business Funding for Women

Recently the P2P Lending platform belongs to the Putera Sampoerna Foundation Blossom and the Dhuafa Partner Cooperative (Komida) have signed an agreement on online loans. Through the signing of this cooperation, both of them open up opportunities for investors to provide loans to women in rural areas to fulfill their need for liquidity as business capital.

Mekar (PT Sampoerna Wirausaha) is a P2P Lending platform whose shares are owned by Putera Sampoerna Foundation, Michelle Sampoerna, Michael Sampoerna and Putera Sampoerna. Mekar was founded in 2010, initially as a donation site, however pivot become a P2P Lending service.

Meanwhile, Komida is the largest funding cooperative in Indonesia from small businesses run by a group of housewives, has been operating since 2004. Its members reach 375 people with a network of 150 offices throughout Indonesia. Historically, Komida members' rates of return have been excellent, with more than 99% of them paying on time.

"So far Komida has proven to have a fantastic program to finance women in rural areas who have small businesses. More than 99% of members pay on time," said Mekar CEO Thierry Sanders in an official statement received DailySocial.

Within the scope of its work, Komida will conduct selection, conduct coaching and training, and provide funding (or loans) for women. These loans will be displayed online on the Mekar platform. Investors with internet access and having a bank or savings account can access Mekar to select and fund small businesses, as well as invest.

The yield offered on average is 10% per year, almost double the interest rate on bank deposits. Mekar is committed to continuing to add around 100 new small business loans on its platform every week for investors to invest.

Komida and Bloom have reserves to guarantee loans invested by financiers. Available loans range from IDR 3 million to IDR 25 million. So far by adopting the Grameen Bank system, Komida has provided loans of more than IDR 2,5 trillion to its members.

"The partnership with Mekar will finally unite women in the middle class who really need financing to develop their businesses so they can support their respective families," said Komida Chairman Slamet Riyadi.

The partnership with Mekar also allows Komida to increase funding while reducing funding costs, which are (usually) obtained from other funding sources or banks.

For Mekar, this partnership is a step for the company to enter a larger network to reach more Indonesian SMEs. This is because SMEs owned and run by women are a strong movement in Indonesia.

The financing unit of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in its 2016 report stated that 51% of Indonesian SMEs are owned and driven by women.

In addition, more women entrepreneurs around 44% of the total entrepreneurs in Indonesia who need funding by borrowing cash for their business.

In the future, Mekar will partner with other financial institutions, so that investors will have a variety of business sectors to finance.