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Companies join hands to mitigate pandemic
Multinational and major local companies are rolling up their sleeves to not only keep businesses going but also help the government limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its harsh impact on economic activities in the country
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ultinational and major local companies are rolling up their sleeves to not only keep businesses going but also help the government limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its harsh impact on economic activities in the country.
Assistance is coming not only from the largest technology companies but also local publicly listed companies and state-owned enterprises. They have come up with various initiatives to help the people affected by the new coronavirus, such as providing a safety net program.
Homegrown decacorn (a start-up valued at more than US$10 billion) Gojek announced on Wednesday through a press release that it would be the first on-demand application in Indonesia to launch an income assistance scheme for its driver-partners who tested positive for COVID-19.
“Gojek strives to keep people living life as normal as possible amid the challenges the COVID-19 has brought, including the partners in our ecosystem,” Gojek co-CEO Kevin Aluwi said in a written statement on Wednesday.
Gojek will provide a stipend for its driver-partners for 14 days and will put on hold any due payments of its partners, including for insurance coverage and vehicle installments, until they are cleared to go back to work. The income assistance scheme has been available since Thursday.
“They are saving lives. Our job is to support them as best we can and be the champion of their noble role in this story,” co-CEOs Kevin and Andre Soelistyo wrote, referring to the driver-partners’ role in helping people stick to the social distancing regime urged by the government to limit the spread of the virus.
Gojek is also extending its support for healthcare workers by waiving food delivery fees in areas near hospitals and rolling out GoRide and GoCar vouchers for trips to and from hospitals and testing centers.
PT Adaro Energy, PT Indofood Sukses Makmur and PT Puradelta Lestari are among the publicly listed companies that have donated funds to help cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indonesia’s major coal producer Adaro Energy, meanwhile, has handed the government Rp 20 billion (US$1.33 million) in cash to help it fight COVID-19 through its task force set up to handle the crisis.
"We will use up to Rp 5 billion from the donation to provide ambulances and the remaining Rp 15 billion to be dedicated to the team responsible for providing logistical support and medicine for nurses, doctors and health workers, including ambulance drivers,” the head of the task force, Doni Monardo, who is also the chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said after receiving the donation on Monday.
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir announced on Friday through a virtual press conference that, following a meeting with high-ranking officials including President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the SOE's CSR programs for this year would be used mostly to provide medical equipment and medical services for people infected with the new coronavirus.
The minister said that pharmaceutical SOEs would also be tasked with producing and distributing up to 4.7 million masks by the end of March.
Meanwhile, companies under the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry are in cooperation with the Buddha Tzu Chi Indonesia Foundation to raise up to Rp 500 billion in funds to donate healthcare equipment to medical workers.
Meanwhile, Facebook announced on Wednesday through its Instagram platform that it would be offering $100 million in cash grants and ad credits, the latter refers to a form of payment for users’ ads on Facebook and Instagram, to up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in more than 30 countries Facebook operates in.
The International Finance Corporation, a sister corporation of the World Bank that focuses on developing the private sector in emerging markets, announced on March 17 it would increase its available COVID-19 financing to $8 billion, up from an earlier $6 billion. (ydp)
— Riska Rahman contributed to this report
