Supporting the Red and White Fishermen's Village, BSI Develops the Warloka Fishermen's Village in NTT

For the coastal community in Warloka Village, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), going to sea is not just a job, but a means of survival. However, with limited facilities and market access, the abundant marine produce has so far not fully been able to improve the welfare of the residents.

Warloka Coastal Village has long been known as a fishing village with great potential. In fact, this area is being developed into a modern tourism and fishing village zone by the government through the Red and White Fishermen’s Village programme. Located in Komodo Subdistrict on Flores Island, the village is only about 20 km or approximately 45 minutes from the Labuan Bajo tourism hub. Currently, infrastructure in the form of a pier has been completed.

PT Bank Syariah Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BSI) complements this infrastructure by introducing the Sponsored Village programme in the form of Kampung Nelayan BSI Warloka. This programme is an empowerment effort for the community that goes beyond physical assistance, also encompassing business mentoring, training, and cooperative strengthening. This approach opens opportunities for the community to not only rely on daily catches but also to build more stable and sustainable businesses.

The inauguration of Kampung Nelayan Warloka is part of the escalation of the Desa Bangun Sejahtera Indonesia (Desa BSI) programme. In 2025, BSI will open three new villages spread across Aceh, East Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi. This step strengthens BSI’s track record, which to date has sponsored 20 villages with 7,853 beneficiaries in 14 provinces across Indonesia.

Initiated since 2024, the Kampung Nelayan Desa BSI Warloka was inaugurated on Tuesday (21/4/2026) by BSI President Director Anggoro Eko Cahyo. The inauguration was witnessed by Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian National Zakat Agency (Baznas RI) KH Zainut Tauhid Saadi, Head of the NTT Provincial Financial Services Authority (OJK) Yan Jimmy Hendrik Simarmata, and Staff Assistant cum Acting Assistant for Government and People’s Welfare of West Manggarai Agustinus Gias.

The BSI Fishermen’s Village programme directly addresses the basic needs of fishermen, namely boats and warehouses with cold storage or refrigeration machines that can accommodate fishermen’s catches, as well as a fish auction site.

BSI President Director Anggoro Eko Cahyo emphasised that as a financial institution, BSI has a mission to ensure its presence is felt inclusively by all segments of society. “We want to contribute to improving community welfare not only in urban centres but also in villages,” said Anggoro.

He stressed that this programme aligns with the national development direction of Asta Cita, which emphasises development from villages and people’s economic empowerment. The government itself has targeted the development of 1,000 fishermen’s villages by 2026. As a state-owned bank, BSI has expressed its commitment to contributing to village economic development.

For the people of Warloka, this programme is not just aid, but a turning point. With the right support, they hope to see a different future, where children can access better education, incomes are more stable, and the village economy is no longer left behind.

Kampung Nelayan Desa BSI Warloka is the 21st sponsored village out of 23 villages built by BSI since the merger. Specifically for Warloka, BSI has provided 19 boats to around 143 households. Warloka itself is home to around 300 households with approximately 1,000 souls.

Supporting the sustainability concept, the fishing boats are equipped with solar panels for lighting. Similarly, the cold storage uses electricity from solar panels to operate the refrigeration machines.

In the next 2–3 years, Kampung Nelayan Warloka is targeted to become self-sufficient as a productive village.