Housewife receives Microcredit Award

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.