Finding Hope in Economic Growth Through Fintech

Did you know? In South East Asia, only 27 per cent of its population have a bank account (source KPMG, 2016), that’s roughly about 438 million unbanked. While in Indonesia, more than 50 per cent of the population are unbanked.

While Southeast Asia has been trying for to raise its standard of living (including to narrow its huge income gap and tackle the problem of poverty amongst its people), apparently the lack of access to basic financial services also plays a substantial role in this setback. In return, many people, including startups and entrepreneurs, faces significant problem: is it very difficult for them to borrow money, let alone to grow their business.

In 2012, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia had reached 99.99 percent of total enterprises. The SMEs employed 107 million workers or almost 91 percent of the total Indonesia workforce. While this year, again, SMEs plays a vital role in Indonesia’s economy. Contributing close to 58% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing more than 97% of workers. Without doubt, SMEs in Indonesia are one of the axis of the nation’s economic engine.

The hope in the lift

But still, when it comes to finding financial support, these economic heroes, the SMEs, are still facing difficulties. But thanks to P2P lending or crowdfunding as it is also called, things are moving to a brighter direction. When financial services players are limited in execution, there lies hope in financial technology (fintech) companies to bring financial access for the SMEs in Indonesia.

Since the rise of fintech companies in Indonesia, companies like MEKAR also aims to help to improve Indonesia’s economic condition. Since 2012, MEKAR was the first peer-to-peer lending platform of Indonesia for lending to businesses.

With its innovative solutions delivered over mobile and agent networks, MEKAR has been able to grant access for the SMEs who’s been facing difficulties to obtain loans to grow their business, anytime, anywhere. And the result? Splendid. It has helped finance over 800 businesses, creating jobs, growing markets and contributing to social and economic impact.