Evermos and ILO Conclude Three-Year Project Empowering Vulnerable Groups Through Digital Business
Evermos, a connected commerce platform, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have concluded a three-year collaboration focused on empowering vulnerable groups through digital business. The partnership targeted persons with disabilities and former migrant workers, recognising the significant potential for these groups to achieve economic independence via digital entrepreneurship. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the labour force participation rate for persons with disabilities was only around 20% in early 2025, far behind the roughly 70% rate for non-disabled groups.
Iqbal Muslimin, Chief of Sustainability at Evermos, stated, “We see digital business as a bridge to reduce economic access barriers for persons with disabilities and returning migrant workers. Without large capital or the need for a physical location, just using a mobile phone is enough. This business model opens opportunities for them to build independent and sustainable sources of income.”
This collaboration operated under the ILO’s Promise II Impact project, which began in 2023 and aims to improve access to financial services for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This aligns with Evermos’ vision to promote MSME empowerment across Indonesia. Evermos provides a digital business ecosystem, including a reseller platform, curated halal products, and business training and mentoring. Meanwhile, the ILO contributed a decent work framework and financial literacy modules to support participants in starting financially sound digital businesses.
Since 2023, more than 230 beneficiaries have felt the impact in various cities. In March 2026, Evermos and the ILO, together with the Migrant Worker Resource Centre (MRC), provided digital entrepreneurship training for migrant workers in Cirebon, West Java. A similar programme was also implemented in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, involving persons with disabilities from various groups such as the BPKK of the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower, the Sleman branch of the Indonesian Women with Disabilities Association (HWDI), and the Mitra Sejahtera Disability Empowerment Centre (PPDMS) in Gunungkidul.
During the training, participants were guided to directly try selecting products to sell through the Evermos application, apply digital marketing techniques, and strengthen an entrepreneurial mindset so that income earned during their working period could grow into a long-term productive asset. Participants were also introduced to and directly practised using WhatsApp Business as a tool to start a digital business. The ILO team complemented the training material with basic financial literacy to enable participants to manage their new ventures soundly.
Arip Tirta, President of Evermos, said, “For us, digital transformation is also meaningful when it reaches vulnerable groups, those furthest from access to information for economic empowerment. Through Evermos, a person with a disability or a migrant worker returning to their hometown can start a business just from a mobile phone, without large capital—and that is a truly inclusive form of empowerment.”
Djauhari Sitorus, Project Manager for Promise II Impact, added, “The closing of this series of activities is not the end of the participants’ journey, but rather the beginning of their steps as digital business actors. Three years of experience show that when vulnerable groups gain access to the right skills, technology, and mentoring, they are able to create economic opportunities for themselves. The partnership between the ILO and Evermos is an example of how collaboration can help realise more inclusive economic growth that leaves no one behind.”
Closing the three-year journey of the Promise II Impact project, Evermos and the ILO hope this contribution can encourage vulnerable groups to play a role in driving Indonesia’s economic growth as digital business entrepreneurs. With open access to digital business, vulnerable groups can become empowered and economically independent. Beyond that, this collaboration is expected to become an inclusive empowerment model that can be replicated in more regions, so that an economy open to all groups is not just an aspiration, but something that can be realised.
About Evermos
Evermos is a reseller platform that integrates a distribution network, commerce services, and a range of curated halal products with a business community focused on serving underserved communities. Evermos supports the success of its resellers regardless of gender, educational background, or geographic location by providing regular business training and mentoring. Founded in November 2018, Evermos has built the largest reseller-based connected commerce network in Indonesia, with over 1 million resellers nationwide, more than 200,000 active sellers per month, and hundreds of products from Indonesian MSMEs. Evermos has also won various prestigious awards, including the Top CSR Award - Star 4 2026, the Seal Business Sustainability Award 2025, the Nikkei Asia Award 2023, the UN Women 2024 Indonesian Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs), and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators Community.