Expand the Role of Digital Donations for Rural Economic Empowerment, Amartha Launches Empower
The spirit of gotong royong among Indonesian society demonstrates a strong trend. The World Giving Index report has placed Indonesia as the world’s most generous country for several years in a row.
Building on this phenomenon, Amartha Financial (Amartha) has launched Amartha Empower, a portal for fundraising donations and zakat managed by Amartha.org, the foundation established by Amartha to expand the social impact of its digital financial services ecosystem.
The launch of Amartha Empower represents Amartha’s latest step in strengthening the economic resilience of rural communities. This initiative is built on 16 years of Amartha’s experience in serving more than 3.7 million micro-business actors across over 50,000 villages, while also broadening empowerment impacts through public participation in the form of donations, zakat, and sedekah.
“Since its founding in 2010, Amartha has developed a gotong royong model by connecting investors with millions of rural women-led MSMEs through access to capital. We believe that true progress emerges when rural communities have access to capital and stronger community support. Through Amartha Empower, we aim to bring the same spirit to the realm of public donations. With Amartha’s network reaching over 50,000 villages, public contributions will be linked to various empowerment programmes that help rural communities strengthen their businesses, restore livelihoods, and create sustainable economic opportunities,” said Aria Widyanto, Chairman of amartha.org, quoted from a press release received on Thursday (26/3).
He added that experiences in assisting communities post-disaster in Aceh and Sumatra show that resilience arises from collective strength. “Residents do not wait for aid but work together to find solutions to restore their livelihoods. Through discussions with residents to hands-on gotong royong in the field, damaged irrigation channels are now irrigating 53 hectares of rice fields and 30 hectares of dry fields belonging to 735 residents in Agam Regency. In the coming months, this recovery is expected to revive agricultural activities with a potential harvest value of up to Rp3.8 billion,” explained Aria.
OBTAINING BAZNAS PERMISSION
As part of efforts to strengthen the credible management and distribution of social funds, Amartha Empower has obtained permission as a Zakat Collection Unit (UPZ) since 2025 from the National Zakat Agency (Baznas). This designation enables Amartha Empower to collect and distribute zakat, donations, and sedekah in a more structured manner, while also expanding public access to contribute to various rural economic and social empowerment programmes.
“The designation of the Amartha Foundation as a UPZ by Baznas is a step to facilitate employees, partners, and the entire Amartha ecosystem in channeling zakat in a trustworthy and professional manner. Through this UPZ, we hope that the collection of zakat, donation, and sedekah funds can be optimised further, including through digital channels, so that their distribution can provide tangible benefits to the community,” said Rizaludin Kurniawan, Head of Baznas Collection Division.
One concrete manifestation of collaboration and empowerment through Amartha Empower can be seen in the post-flood recovery programme in Aceh and Sumatra. From the approximately Rp2.5 billion in funds collected, Amartha Empower has channelled logistical aid to more than 32,000 affected MSME partners, school renovations, clean water provision, public kitchen services, sleeping and hygiene equipment, as well as psychosocial support for women and children.
One aid recipient who is also an Amartha partner in Jorong Toboh, Agam Regency, Ibu Ira, expressed that the local community is grateful for the assistance provided by Amartha.
“This support is very meaningful to the residents of Jorong Toboh as it helps us rise after the disaster. In addition to meeting the urgent needs of residents, the irrigation channel repairs also allow our rice fields and dry fields to be irrigated again so that farmers can resume planting and restore their livelihoods,” she explained.
Looking ahead, Amartha is opening wider collaboration opportunities so that more community empowerment initiatives can be realised through Amartha Empower.