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Indonesia asks UN for technical assistance on financial inclusion
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President Joko Widodo talks to Queen Maxima of the Netherlands about financial technology development in Indonesia at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Sept 1. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat/Press Bureau)
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ndonesia is asking the UN for technical assistance to help it provide financial inclusion to small businesses, such as farmers and fishermen, throughout the country, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said.
In a courtesy call with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands during her visit as the UN secretary-general's special advocate for inclusive finance for development, Jokowi asked the queen to support the widening of financial inclusion in the country, particularly for small businesses.
Supporting regulations would need to be prepared and the UN, through Queen Maxima, will hopefully provide technical assistance to help the country speed up the process, Jokowi said after the meeting at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday.
The two also reportedly discussed the development of financial technology (fintech) during their one-hour talk, with the UN expressing its commitment to assisting fintech development.
"Yesterday, she met with some of our young people who own applications or software related to fintech. She has chosen two people to be given financial development assistance to accelerate fintech in Indonesia," he explained.
The president instructed financial institutions in Indonesia to support the development of micro-enterprises. "I have urged OJK and BI to encourage our micro-businesses, both regarding micro-finance regulation, fintech, as well as collateral for micro business. I think this is very important since Indonesia has huge micro-business potential," he said. (ags)
