Lis is a 42-year-old widow, and a mother to two boys, aged 20 and 16, living in the slums of Jakarta, Indonesia. Five years ago, she quit her job and started her own mobile coffee business, on the back of a motorbike. Lis sells coffee, other beverages and fried food to her local community. She begins her day at 6.30am, selling drinks and food until 4.00pm.

In 2019, Lis received a small loan through Opportunity’s local partner in Indonesia to expand her business. She was able to purchase more products like coffee, tea and hot chocolate to sell in her community, increasing her daily income by 50 per cent. 

_{Lis operates her coffee cart on a motorbike in Jakarta}

“I enjoy running my business,” said Lis. “I feel I can fulfil my needs better.”

Before she started her coffee business, Lis struggled to pay school fees for her sons, but now with the extra income, it’s no longer a problem. She was also able to renovate her home, making her family more comfortable.

She has dreams of further renovations in the future. “I’d like to build another room upstairs,” said Lis.

Thanks to her small loan, Lis is able to build a brighter future.

_{Lis serves an iced coffee from her mobile coffee cart}

Supporting more women in Indonesia through small loans

After a challenging few years due to COVID-19 lockdowns and disruptions, Opportunity saw growth in its microfinance programs in Indonesia. In 2022, 1,447,696 families in Indonesia received a small loan and improved their quality of life, almost 80,000 more than in 2021.

To help increase our reach and the quality of services, we're supporting our local partners in developing new products to meet clients’ needs - with technology to improve services and a mobile banking app helping women in Indonesia have easy access to their finances. Improving gender and disability inclusion practices, as well as child safeguarding, is also a huge focus.

While we're reaching more remote and rural areas across Indonesia, there are still ongoing challenges in reaching women who are unbanked. We are committed to working with local partners to continue expanding the reach of digital financial services, giving them access to loans and savings accounts.

_{Women working on a dragonfruit farm in Rote, Indonesia, supported by local partners}

This program is supported by the Australian Government through the NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).