Indonesia is the most populous country in Southeast Asia, with a promising emerging economy and significant potential for future growth. However, beneath this growth, Indonesia continues to struggle with poverty and pronounced disparities across genders and regions. These challenges are especially pronounced in rural areas, where many people remain trapped in cycles of poverty.
To address this situation, it is essential to support women, who play a crucial role in sustaining local economies. Women living in rural areas possess significant potential to revitalize regional economies, yet their ability to fully realize this potential is constrained by limited access to education and financial services.
Saenah Farida, Financing Business Division at PT Bank BTPN Syariah Tbk, a subsidiary of PT Bank SMBC Indonesia Tbk, highlights the challenges faced by the Bank’s primary customer base which are women living in rural areas. “Over 70% of our customers have completed only elementary or junior high school as their highest level of education. While they often show strong motivation to start their own businesses, they typically have limited financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills, so they have difficulty expanding or making their business sustain,”
she explains.
Furthermore, The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted rural communities. Many of the Bank’s customers faced significant financial difficulties as their business revenues declined. With their business at risk, they were compelled to either improve their operations, shifting the business or start a new business. However, not only financial assistance was required to overcome these challenges, but also practical knowledge and skills to start and improve the business were needed. In response to these circumstances, the Bank launched the BESTEE program in 2021, a comprehensive support initiative designed to address these needs.
“BESTEE Program”:
Promoting Women’s
Empowerment in Rural
Areas
Through Digital
Technology and
Community Support
The BESTEE program is distinguished by its tailored support, delivered through intensive personal mentoring and training. Facilitators work closely with each customer, focusing on equipping women in rural areas with the skills and knowledge needed to earn income through their businesses. This includes guidance on sales techniques, marketing strategies, financial management, and other essential business practices to help ensure their success.
The BESTEE program integrates a digital platform to connect customers and facilitators, enabling access to essential information and training resources. Customers can use the mobile app to learn at their own pace, while facilitators input activity records into the platform to monitor progress. This approach not only streamlines the training process but also improves transparency and efficiency.
Facilitators participating as mentors in this program include students from 323 universities across 26 provinces in Indonesia. As part of the initiative, these students visit women entrepreneurs in rural areas, providing practical guidance on business improvement topics such as branding strategies, marketing and social media utilization. Additionally, students leverage the digital platform to record and manage training sessions and track the progress of business improvements. This enables them to analyze customers’ business conditions and propose tailored improvement strategies. Saenah emphasizes the program’s value, stating, “The experience of engaging with the needs of local communities on the ground is a valuable opportunity for nurturing the next generation of leaders.”
Program participants learn to develop sales strategies in promoting their own product through social media, enhance product branding, and improve packaging, resulting in increased business revenue. As of June 2024, a total of 83,296 customers have participated in the training, with 57% demonstrating positive changes in their business operations. For example, one participant, who produces traditional textiles called tenun, significantly increased the sales by promoting products on Facebook and Instagram with the help of student facilitators. Another participant successfully attracted customers from urban areas by improving their online visibility through Google, capitalizing on growing demand from tourists.
From Individual
Achievements to
Collective Improvement
of the Community
The impact of the BESTEE program goes beyond the success of individual customers. By fostering mutual support among customers as a community, the program builds a foundation for overcoming poverty and inequality across the entire region. “Achieving sustainable growth requires customers to maintain discipline and work together as a community to pursue collective progress,”
Saenah emphasizes. The success of each participant creates a ripple effect, spreading to others within the community and driving positive change. This, in turn, strengthens the community and establishes a foundation for sustained economic and social growth.
However, increasing participation in the BESTEE program comes with its challenges. First, building customer interest and understanding of this empowering program is essential for developing their business, as customer must be willing to invest time and focus in order to participate effectively. Additionally, many customers are unfamiliar with using digital platforms, requiring guidance to use the application effectively. Moreover, since most rural customers primarily speak local languages, facilitators need to be fluent in these languages to effectively communicate and provide guidance.
To address these challenges, the Bank has been promoting the program in customer routine meetings, and increasing awareness of local communities through socialization and social media campaigns. Additionally, the company is working to deploy facilitators with strong local ties and language skills to better support customers in their native languages.
Looking ahead, the company plans to expand the BESTEE program’s support to areas beyond rural regions. It also aims to further strengthen collaboration with universities, educational institutions, startups, and government entities by creating a framework that encourages broader participation in the program. These efforts are designed to foster empowerment community throughout Indonesia.
Saenah concluded by sharing her vision of the BESTEE program: “Our goal is to create social value by empowering communities, particularly women in rural areas who face economic and social challenges. The BESTEE program serves as a flagship initiative, striving to enable individuals and communities to achieve sustainable growth and pass on their success to the next generation.”
