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Proportion of financially illiterate Indonesians at 80% due to infrastructure gap
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President Joko Widodo delivers his speech at the Indonesia Fintech Festival and Conference at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in Tangerang on Aug. 30, 2016. (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has expressed his concern over the lack of infrastructure in the country leading to a low financial literacy level of just 21.8 percent. This means, in effect, that around 80 percent of Indonesians are financially illiterate.
Quoting from the latest survey on financial literacy conducted by the Financial Service Authority (OJK) in 2013, the President highlighted this alarming fact and emphasized that Indonesia scored poorly in comparison with its neighbors.
"In Singapore, it’s already 96 percent. Malaysia has reached 81 percent and Thailand is at 78 percent," he said during his remarks at the Indonesia Fintech Festival and Conference at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in Tangerang on Tuesday.
Poor infrastructure and a geographically vast archipelagic country complicates the government’s effort to improve financial literacy in Indonesia, Jokowi said.
"Allow me to take the most extreme example. In Papua, traveling from Duga regency to Wamena takes at least 4 days of walking, because no roads are available yet," he said.
This lack of infrastructure makes it difficult for people to develop the economic potential of their local area, Jokowi added. Thus, he said he hoped for an increase in financial access by optimizing technology through financial exclusion and the expansion of financial technology. (ags)
