Indonesia is a nation of more than 17,000 islands—around 6,000 of them inhabited—and the realities between urban centers like Jakarta, the most densely populated city in the world, and peri-urban areas or remote rural villages such as Sulawesi can be vastly different. The national Financial Services Authority, OJK, has highlighted at least an 8% financial access gap between urban areas and the rest of the country.
Today, over 50 million Indonesian business owners are running their micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) without access to banking services. More than half of these businesses are led by women, and for women in rural communities, the financial obstacles are stacked especially high. Without access to financial services, reliable connectivity, or basic digital literacy, how can a woman in a remote village secure an affordable loan to grow her business and improve her family’s financial security?
This is a struggle Ibu Eni knew very well. She is a batik designer working Kampung Batik Laweyan in Surakarta, Central Java. For years, each time she received an order she would have to borrow money from friends or family to make it. With this help she could buy materials in small batches, but her production capacity was significantly limited. And as an informal worker, accessing formal credit was not an option.
That is where Amartha Financial came in. A pioneering fintech company in Indonesia with roots in microfinance, Amartha provides women-led micro and small businesses in underserved rural communities with access to capital, digital solutions, and sustainable livelihood programs.
Through collateral-free financing from Amartha, Ibu Eni received a loan of IDR 5 million (around USD 300), allowing her to purchase more raw materials upfront, manage production more efficiently, and gradually expand her business.
Beyond these micro-loans, Amartha community representatives also taught Eni to use the AmarthaFin app so that she could expand her access to digital financial products. Now, Eni uses Poket, Amartha’s e-wallet, to transfer money and make payments, and invests her extra money using a product called Celengan, or “piggybank.” Amartha allows micro-investments starting at just IDR 10,000 (about 60 cents), earning a 5–8% fixed annual return with no administrative fees.
With this support, Eni’s business has grown from seasonal sales to continuous production, approximately doubling her income. Through the Amartha community, she also attends exhibitions and industry fairs, helping her gain exposure and distribute her products internationally.
Today, Ibu Eni feels more independent and empowered, and is proud to contribute significantly to her household income. As a woman in her 50s, using digital financial products and tools was daunting at first, but Amartha’s grassroots approach meant she received regular training from some of their more than 10,000 field staff. Now, she is a confident user of the AmarthaFin app.
In turn, Eni helps other women in her community. She is an Amartha group leader and keeps her group of 12 members on track with their loan repayments. She has also helped other women in her community build their businesses sustainably, with strong results. With Amartha’s support, Eni’s fellow hand-painted Batik designer Ibu Putri finally had enough capital to buy materials upfront, plan production properly, and explore different kinds of products. Today, she manages a home-based art shop and consigns products to several stores in Solo. With this expansion, her earnings increased from IDR 4–6 million to around IDR 8–10 million (USD 480–600) per month. Another woman in Eni’s group, Ibu Puci, a traditional herbal drink (jamu) seller, used unsecured financing from Amartha to upgrade her equipment, which increased production enough to supply six to seven local souvenir shops. With her new earnings, Ibu Puci can contribute significantly to her child’s education.
Women are economic drivers in their communities, but they can often be left out of formal banking tools and services because of a lack of appropriate products for their specific needs. Fintechs like Amartha are showing a different way: their services are tailor-made for Indonesian women entrepreneurs. Their innovative AI model analyzes over 800 variables, including demographics, digital activity, transactions, and repayment behavior to assess repayment capacity without traditional credit histories. This has sped up approvals, created smooth digital onboarding and convenient mobile repayments, and removed guarantor requirements, enhancing women’s financial autonomy.
Now that it has an e-wallet license, and as its digital platform expands, Amartha is focusing on offering a broader suite of products that can support financial health—from strengthening protection and helping clients manage risks to creating more pathways for saving and building wealth. These are important steps that will deepen financial stability and resilience for the women Amartha serves.
Ibu Eni, Ibu Puci and Ibu Putri are just three examples of more than 3.3 million women-led microbusinesses in 50,000 villages in Indonesia that have received microloans from Amartha since 2010. These women have been able to grow their businesses, improve life for their families, create jobs, and preserve Indonesia’s cultural heritage. It is an inspiring reminder that when people are at the heart of financial health solutions, entire communities will prosper.
