[JANUARY 17, 2022] PERBARINDO, BPR Association, held an in-person workshop last month, to discuss challenges and different pathways for rural banks to conduct digital lending. The event was hosted by Nikel, a leading embedded lending technology company, that works with various Indonesian banks and marketplaces to connect capital to the MSME sector.
15 BPRs across DKI Jakarta, West Java and Banten provinces attended the event, with keynote speech by Pak Dedy Patria, OJK representative. The highlight of the event was Nikel’s demonstration of various end-to-end digital lending solutions for banks to increase their credit distribution by targeting existing or new MSME customers. The presentation was followed by lively discussion among the audience to articulate and troubleshoot the BPRs’ key challenges in digital lending.
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of investing in Indonesia’s MSME sector for economic recovery and resilience. Last year, Bank Indonesia introduced regulation for the banking sector to provide at least 25 percent of their total loan portfolio to MSMEs by June 2023, and at least 40 percent by June 2024. To reach this target, banks need to invest in digital solutions and dedicated teams to effectively lend to MSMEs in a scalable way, while managing the credit risk.
“The workshop was a great way to connect in-person with other (BPR) members. The timing of the event could not have been better, as we close 2021 calendar year, and look forward to plan for the next year” shared Ricardo Simatupang, Chairman of PERBARINDO, “I hope that the presentations and discussions at the event will lead to tangible projects for BPRs’ digital transformations and increase the banking sector’s reach to MSMEs”.
“At Nikel, we envision a future where Indonesia’s business banking is seamless for both lenders and borrowers.” added Dewi Wiranti, Nikel’s Country Head, “It was encouraging to learn about various initiatives from BPRs to increase lending to small businesses, and we hope to contribute to these efforts with Nikel’s technology.
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