The Spirit and Dedication of a BRI Mantri Bringing Access to Banking in the Mountains of North Toraja

The resilience of Elce Putri Bontong is a real portrait of a woman’s spirit that is not only empowered but also brings impact to her surrounding environment. She is a micro-marketer, or ‘Mantri’, for BRI, assigned to the Bolu Unit in Rantepao, North Toraja, South Sulawesi. Serving in a 3T (Underdeveloped, Frontier, Outermost) area with difficult travel terrain, Elce’s spirit to provide financial services to the community remains undimmed. Every journey she makes to remote villages is not just a work task, but a form of real contribution to driving the community’s economic wheels.

Elce’s career journey at BRI began in 2013. At that time, she started as a teller before being trusted to fill the position of customer service. The experience of serving customers inside the office actually made her want to have a broader role. That opportunity came in 2020 when she participated in the BRI Mantri recruitment and was eventually placed in the Toraja region.

‘I was interested in becoming a Mantri because I thought the service reach would be wider. Previously, as a teller and CS, it was limited to just inside the building, waiting for customers to come. I wanted to also do outreach in the field, that’s why I was interested in becoming a Mantri. Outside, the customers’ needs are more diverse,’ Elce recounted.

BRI Unit Bolu is the second unit Elce has handled during her duties as a Mantri. From this unit, she manages customers in Karre Pananian Village, Nanggala District, North Toraja Regency. The area is about 35 kilometres from the unit office. Although the distance does not seem too far, the journey to the village must pass through mountain roads with challenging terrain conditions. As a woman, the travel terrain to the village is certainly not without risk. Quiet roads, passing through forests and hills, are challenges that must be faced almost every day. However, Elce has her own way of ensuring safety while on duty.