INDONESIA has millions of business potentials that can be utilized optimally starting from the potential of the digital economy, grassroots, sustainable tourism, and many other things. Each potential has its own challenges to be developed.
In order to maximize business potential, Amartha Founder & CEO, Andi Taufan Garuda Putra as one of the alumni of the LPDP scholarship education program has been appointed by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia to provide entrepreneurship materials at the Departure Preparation (PK) activities for the 240th LPDP scholarship class in Jakarta.
As a figure who has long been involved in the world of entrepreneurship, Andi Taufan proves that the spirit to return and contribute to Indonesia is a strong capital for building a business.
The founder of Amartha, who also served as a special staff member to the president, views challenges as an opportunity to create a business that is not only profit-oriented, but also makes a real contribution to reducing social and economic inequality in rural areas.
Andi said while filling the LPDP scholarship PK event, Amartha was born from the desire to solve the most pressing problem facing Indonesia 14 years ago. Namely, welfare inequality.
“We see that people in rural areas have the potential to develop MSMEs, but the inequality of access to capital and knowledge for entrepreneurship is a barrier. This problem is an opportunity for Amartha to present inclusive financial service solutions,” he said.
Amartha is here to bridge the economic and social gap by providing access to capital for small and ultra-micro entrepreneurs in rural areas. However, in answering the needs of the grassroots economic segment, it cannot be generalized. The needs are very diverse, so innovation is needed to understand the needs of the customers to be served, and this is one of the keys to entrepreneurial success.
“Not only finding existing problems, building a business also requires a team that is in line with the company’s vision. This is a challenging early stage because with limited resources, we are required to find a team that is technically competent, and also has a commitment to empowering the grassroots economic segment. For that, we need to utilize data and listen to intuition in order to choose a team that is in line,” added Andi Taufan.
According to Andi Taufan, Indonesia needs more young generations who are entrepreneurs to solve various problems in the social, economic, educational, health, and other fields. The more young generations who are entrepreneurs, the more jobs will be created, so that the wheels of the economy continue to turn.
Building a Business with a Commitment to Empowering Grassroots Economic Segments
The discussion with hundreds of LPDP scholarship recipients became more lively with the Q&A session. Participants were enthusiastic to explore further how Andi Taufan’s strategy was to establish Amartha, amidst many geopolitical issues, tech winter, economic downturn and others. However, Amartha remains strong and focused on productive financing for the grassroots MSME segment, and even managed to record a performance that continues to grow.
Andi Taufan also answered questions from participants, “Sustainable businesses must have a strong foundation. Business actors must ensure that the governance that is carried out is good, the customers served are massive and have the opportunity to grow, innovation is continuously carried out to adapt to change. These things will be a magnet for businesses to grow sustainably, thus attracting investors to join.”
Amartha got its first investor from BeeNext Singapore in 2015. At that time, Amartha successfully proved that the business model and potential of the customers served were so great. Performance also continued to grow so that funding continued to come in to jointly support Amartha in advancing the grassroots economy. Now, more than 30 institutions have entrusted Amartha to channel capital and digitize MSMEs.
“As leaders, we must be trustworthy in carrying out our duties. We have been given trust by customers, investors, and employees. So carry out this task with trust. Don’t be satisfied too quickly, keep innovating because change and challenges are always present in every journey of building a business. If you feel tired of the challenges, rethink the vision we have built. The goal is to build a sustainable business that can be an asset for Indonesia,” said Andi Taufan before closing the discussion.
Through strong determination and commitment to continue innovating, Andi Taufan has successfully overcome various challenges and Amartha continues to grow as a company that creates impact. Amartha has distributed capital of more than 22 trillion Rupiah to more than 2.5 million grassroots MSMEs in Indonesia. Amartha has recorded profitability for three consecutive years and is targeting to reach millions of other MSMEs in remote areas of Indonesia. (Z-8)
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