Bappenas launches Regional Financial Access Index Dashboard
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (PPN/Bappenas), together with the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and RISE Indonesia, has launched the Regional Financial Access Index (IKAD) Dashboard.
“Today, we are continually making new history—history that will become a model for our national development. It will not only serve as a model for our national financial system, but also for development in other countries,” National Development Planning Minister and Bappenas head Rachmat Pambudy said at the launch in Jakarta on Monday.
The dashboard is intended to support data-based policymaking to broaden equitable financial access, improve people’s financial wellbeing and promote regional economic growth.
It is also part of efforts to strengthen data and policy coordination between central and regional governments, as they advance financial inclusion as a national development priority.
The availability of more detailed information, down to the regency and city level, is expected to help local governments identify gaps in financial access and formulate interventions suited to local communities’ characteristics and needs.
Rachmat stressed the importance of aligning financial inclusion agendas between central and regional governments. In the long-term development framework, financial inclusion is one of 45 Key Development Indicators, with a target of 98 per cent by 2045.
“This dashboard is very important: it is a dashboard for regional financial access. Everything that happens in Indonesia starts in the regions. The plans drawn up in this office, too, must first be grounded in the regions. What we want is not merely to expand access, but to ensure financial services can be used to drive regional economies,” the minister said.
He said access to financing could help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) grow, payment services could make transactions easier, and savings and insurance could help people manage their finances and cope with risks.
Combined with support to build business capacity and improve market access, the use of financial services could boost productivity, expand employment opportunities and increase people’s incomes, he added.
Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto, speaking at the same event, underscored the need for policy coordination to ensure that expanded financial access genuinely improves people’s financial wellbeing.
The IKAD is intended not only to display data, but also to ensure that no region is left behind and that Indonesia’s economic development is equitable.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Bima Arya highlighted the importance of following up on financial-access measurements in regional development planning, including by using them to accelerate local economic growth. He said expanding financial access was important for regional growth and should strengthen coordination and collaboration among all parties.
OJK Board of Commissioners Chair Friderica Widyasari Dewi said expanding access must go hand in hand with greater productive use of financial services.
“OJK plays an important role in promoting the use of IKAD by strengthening coordination among Regional Financial Access Acceleration Teams (TPAKD) and engaging the financial services industry. Cooperation between TPAKD, local governments and the financial services industry is essential to ensure available services meet the needs of communities and businesses and support regional economic development,” Friderica said.
To date, 38 provinces and 341 regencies and cities have included financial inclusion/IKAD indicators in their Regional Medium-Term Development Plans (RPJMD). Guidance on the nomenclature of cross-sector sub-activities related to financial inclusion has also been drawn up as a basis for regional planning and budgeting.
The IKAD Dashboard has been developed as a decision-support tool, providing integrated and ongoing data to monitor and evaluate IKAD performance, while helping local governments and stakeholders formulate more targeted policies.
The dashboard has three main features: a Regional Map to identify financial-access conditions; Regional Analysis to show local scores and rankings and identify programmes that need strengthening, based on the 14 sub-indicators that make up the IKAD; and a Simulation Calculator to assess potential changes in IKAD scores by simulating changes to those 14 sub-indicators.
“Integrating IKAD into regional planning documents will ensure that data is translated into policy. Multi-stakeholder coordination is needed to provide data and formulate regional policy interventions. This is how the policy will become the basis for national planning. I hope the IKAD Dashboard will help improve regional financial inclusion, driving economic growth and people’s welfare,” the Bappenas head said.