Mekaar Loan Interest Drops to 8%, PNM Targets Women
PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), part of the BRI Group, is applying a financing interest rate of 8% through its PNM Mekaar programme. This is being done to boost the ultra-micro economy at the grassroots level.
PNM President Director Kindaris said the policy is part of the company’s commitment to translating the government’s major agenda into benefits that can be felt directly by the public.
“The President’s directive to strengthen the people’s economy is our motivation to continue providing increasingly affordable financing access. For PNM, financing is not just about providing capital, but about how that access can become a gateway for ultra-micro women entrepreneurs to grow, become more independent, and improve their families’ welfare,” Kindaris said in an official statement.
With this programme, small communities and ultra-micro entrepreneurs now have greater room to develop their businesses. The policy is part of efforts to strengthen formal financial access while opening wider opportunities for the public to build economic independence.
The move reinforces support for grassroots entrepreneurs, particularly ultra-micro women entrepreneurs who have long been the drivers of family economies. The presence of increasingly affordable financing is expected to give customers room to manage capital more optimally, maintain business continuity, and expand growth opportunities.
At the same time, expanding financing access is also an important part of encouraging more people to enter and develop within the formal financial ecosystem.
Beyond capital access, the empowerment model integrates financing with business mentoring, capacity building, financial literacy, network development for customers, and social solidarity, requiring customers to attend and follow the mechanisms in place within their groups. This approach makes the 8% interest rate part of a broader empowerment ecosystem, so the benefits received by the public do not stop at capital access.
Previously, Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Maman Abdurrahman said his ministry had held a meeting with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, and Danantara.
The meeting discussed the credit programme for 14 million women currently under the PNM Mekaar programme.
According to Maman, the government decided to accelerate the PNM Mekaar programme. In line with the President’s directive, the interest rate will be reduced from an average of 20% to below 10%.
“That is the directive and order from the President so that the interest received by the women in the Mekaar programme, around 14 million of them, which is currently around 20% on average — some at 21%, ranging from 18% to 24% — is averaged at around 20%,” Maman said.
After formulation, the interest rate was set at 8%. He hopes this will help underprivileged women.
“The President’s order is that it must be pushed below 10% so as not to burden these women, who fall into the pre-prosperous category. Alhamdulillah, the formulation, pattern, and mechanism have been found and decided, with the interest rate at around 8%,” Maman continued.
Maman also revealed that the PNM Mekaar programme with the 8% interest rate will be launched in early September.