Empowerment is Key, PNM Encourages Clients to Upgrade and Avoid Loan Sharks

For some ultra-micro entrepreneurs, the need for capital often comes at a time that cannot be delayed. There are raw materials to be bought, orders to be fulfilled, children to send to school, or urgent household needs. In such situations, loan services that appear quick and easy often become the first choice. However, behind that convenience, quite a few people subsequently face new burdens due to heavy repayment schedules and looming obligations that can disrupt business continuity. The phenomenon of loan sharks and informal lending practices remains a challenge for people who do not yet have full access to formal financial services. For community groups that are not yet bankable, limitations in documentation, collateral, business scale, and financial literacy often become barriers to obtaining safe and well-directed financing. As a result, an option initially perceived as fast can turn into a problem that hinders business development. Amid these conditions, PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), through its Mekaar programme, exists as a more inclusive financing access point for underprivileged women running ultra-micro businesses. PNM Mekaar provides financing without collateral, is group-based, and is accompanied by Weekly Group Meetings (PKM). More than just capital, PNM also delivers empowerment through training, business mentoring, financial management, and business capacity development. PNM has served more than 22.9 million female clients with a service network spanning 58 branch offices and 6,165 sub-districts across Indonesia. Throughout 2025, PNM has also conducted 52,394 training sessions with a total of 1,853,170 participants. This data shows that empowerment is carried out not only through financing access but also through an ongoing mentoring process within the community. For clients, the presence of PNM Mekaar provides a space to learn how to manage a business while building self-reliance. The group meetings are not just places to pay instalments but also spaces for mutual reminding, shared learning, and looking out for one another to keep businesses running. There, financial capital meets social capital. These women entrepreneurs do not walk alone because there is mentoring and a community that helps sustain their journey. Indriana, a PNM Mekaar client from Depok who runs a fried snack business, once conveyed the importance for mothers to be wiser in choosing capital access. She considers PNM Mekaar not only to provide business capital but also business training and a space to expand markets through the Weekly Group Meetings. ‘Mothers who are the economic backbone of the family must be smarter in managing their businesses and obtaining capital. That is why I chose PNM Mekaar,’ said Indriana. Indriana mentioned that being a PNM Mekaar client gave her wider benefits, not just in the form of financing. Through Mekaar, she feels the presence of financial capital, intellectual capital, and social capital that helps her develop her business. ‘Mekaar provides financial capital, intellectual capital, and social capital. Just stay away from loan sharks and join PNM Mekaar. I have gained so many benefits from Mekaar,’ she stated. A similar sentiment was felt by Selly, another PNM Mekaar client from Depok who runs a salon and perfume business. She mentioned that PNM Mekaar helped her develop her business through financing and training. For her, access to financing accompanied by mentoring provides a greater sense of security because clients do not just receive capital but are also directed to manage their businesses gradually. Selly has also felt wider benefits for her family, from meeting household needs and funding her children’s education to engaging in social activities in her neighbourhood. ‘Do not get trapped by loan sharks. I do not want loan sharks; it is better to join PNM Mekaar, which has been proven to improve my business progress and make my family more prosperous,’ she said. This view aligns with the opinion of Professor Imam Widhiono from Jenderal Soedirman University. He assesses that one of the most effective ways to distance the public from loan shark practices is to increase their income. According to him, financing and mentoring are the right steps so that people not only obtain capital but are also able to grow their businesses in a healthier manner. Through PNM Mekaar, PNM aims to present a safer option for people who have so far had limited access to formal financial services. Financing does not stand alone as a loan but becomes an entry point for an empowerment process. There is mentoring, literacy, training, and a space to grow together. PNM believes that when ultra-micro women gain access to proper financing and sustainable mentoring, they are not only able to develop their businesses but also to shape their family’s future. From the small businesses they run every day, grows the courage to be independent, to improve life, and to step forward without having to return to a troublesome shortcut.