Housewife receives Microcredit Award
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A housewife and handicraft entrepreneur from Surabaya has been chosen to be Indonesia's representative to receive the Microcredit Award from the United Nations.
Titik Winarti, who flew to New York with one of her disabled workers for the award ceremony, received the award on Thursday in the official launching of the International Year of Microcredit 2005.
Afghanistan, Rwanda, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cambodia, Pakistan and Mozambique also received similar awards.
"Our judgment was not focused on business aspects such as financing, market development, and product innovation," said Ruslan Prijadi of the University of Indonesia's Management Foundation, who chaired the selection team in Indonesia.
"The aspect most emphasized was how the business affected its surrounding neighborhood," said Ruslan in a press release made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Members of the selection team include Bank Negara Indonesia's president Arwin Rasyid, Dan Kingsley of the Asian Development Bank and The Post's chief editor Endy Bayuni.
Titik was selected from 20 entrepreneurs who were shortlisted from about 600 candidates across the archipelago.
She built her business of embroidered bags and other handicrafts nine years ago with a capital of Rp 500,000 (US$55). The 35-year-old employs disabled workers, as she believes they deserve a chance to earn a proper living.
Along with the award, Titik received Rp 10 million in prize money. Two other finalists, Rukeni Dhani, a copper and bronze relief sculptor from Temanggung, Central Java, and Mahrup, a wood handicraft maker from Labuapi, West Nusa Tenggara, received Rp 5 million and Rp 3 million, respectively.
Meanwhile, Antara news agency reported that president of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Rudjito also spoke at the launching ceremony. He shared the experiences of his bank, which is considered a leading player in channeling microcredit through its 4,100 units across the country.
Dipo Alam of the Office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and several other officials from the Office of the State Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, Bank Mandiri, and Bank Syariah Mandiri also attended the meeting.