Jakarta, March 8 2024. Celebrating International Women's Day 2024, PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) through the Sisternet Program introduced the"FINANSISTER" feature in the Sisternet app. At the same time, by collaborating with PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk (OCBC), XL Axiata also launched a collateral-free loan facility for business capital and digital financial literacy education for Indonesian Womenpreneurs. Director of OCBC, Lili S. Budiana, Independent Commissioner of XL Axiata, Yasmin S. Wirjawan, and Chief Corporate Affairs of XL Axiata, Marwan O. Baasir together held a ceremony to launch the FINANSISTER program in Jakarta on Tuesday (5/3).
With the innovation of the new FINANSISTER feature, XL Axiata is optimistic that Sisternet will transform into a digital ecosystem for empowering Indonesian womenpreneurs, enabling them to realize their full potential and advance, and be able to 'move up in class'. Apart from that, the initiative also targets supporting 1 million Indonesian women.
Yasmin S. Wirjawan stated, "Women have a dual role in the family, as wives who develop duties and responsibilities in the household, and working women who have additional duties in the public sphere to meet the family's economic needs. Some of the most important roles include teaching financial literacy to their children, as well as making financial plans for the family and the business they are running. Through the new FINANSISTER feature, Sisternet presents a digital solution to support womenpreneurs in managing their finances, as well as providing the necessary financial literacy education."
Yasmin added, "To boost digital financial knowledge and accessibility to digital financial developments, XL Axiata is collaborating with OCBC. As a partner, OCBC has the same vision to support womenpreneurs by providing collateral-free business capital loans. We hope Indonesian women can effectively utilize these services and understand associated risks."
Marwan O. Baasir stated, “The 2022 National Survey of Financial Literacy and Inclusion shows interesting facts regarding the financial literacy of the Indonesian people. The survey revealed that women's financial literacy levels were higher than men's with a difference of 50.33% and 49.05%. Even though financial inclusion is still dominated by men at 86.28%, the increase in women's financial literacy is a sign that Indonesian women's understanding of financial services is getting better."
Referring to this data, Marwan continued, XL Axiata hopes to be able to provide digital literacy education for womenpreneurs, supported by convergence services with the best cyber security for data privacy and internet network security. Apart from that, XL Axiata also supports the continued acceleration of digital literacy through the Sisternet program which provides various educational features for Indonesian women.
Lili S. Budiana, OCBC Director, expressed, "In line with Indonesia's vision for 2045, OCBC sees empowering women as a crucial step for economic progress. We're pleased to collaborate with XL Axiata, as this strategic partnership enables us to support Sisternet members. We offer not only business literacy through classes and learning modules but also financial inclusion through KTA Turns on Business loans from OCBC."
"Through FINANSISTER, we hope that OCBC and XL Axiata can continue to work together to create a supportive ecosystem for women's MSMEs, enabling sustainable growth and tangible contributions in improving community welfare and accelerating Indonesia's economic advancement," added Lili.
The partnership between OCBC and XL Axiata started in 2021 with a financial literacy program involving boot camps and sharing sessions. They decided to expand their collaboration to better prepare women entrepreneurs for competition in business.
Sari Kartika, Head of OCBC's SME Proposition Division, stated, "According to the OCBC Fitness Index 2023, 66% of female MSMEs require support from fellow business owners to thrive. This support includes education in business management, operational management, and leadership skills."
Benefits of the FINANSISTER feature
The FINANSISTER feature offers several advantages for Indonesian female MSMEs. To utilize this feature, follow these steps:
The benefits for Sisternet members include:
Apart from the FINANSISTER feature, starting in 2024, the Sisternet application also has several new additional features to support the capacity of Indonesian women, namely:
Previously, Sisternet offered features:
Introduced in April 2015, the Sisternet website and app have attracted over 500,000 women across Indonesia. Since 2020, Sisternet has had a digital application that can be accessed easily via cellphone. With ongoing features additions in the Sisternet app, more members are joining the Sisternet.