Author: admin

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Press release) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening financial inclusion in Indonesia to bolster economic resilience and support the transformation of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), particularly micro and small entrepreneurs and informal workers in rural areas. This commitment was conveyed during a media briefing held in Jakarta on Thursday (11/12).

During the forum, the ILO emphasized that financial inclusion is a key catalyst for MSME transformation toward formalization, strengthened rural value chains, and the creation of decent jobs. This focus aligns with the government’s national agenda to accelerate sustainable economic growth by expanding access to formal and digital financial services.

“Financial inclusion is not only about access; it is about creating meaningful improvements in people’s livelihoods. Within the framework of the Decent Work Agenda, the ILO promotes financial health, productivity, stable income, and enterprise resilience. When MSMEs and farmers are connected to formal financial services, they become more resilient to risks, more productive, and better positioned to expand their businesses,” said Djauhari Sitorus, PROMISE II IMPACT Project Manager.

On the other hand, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) reiterated the importance of expanding safe and responsible financial services, especially for small and micro enterprises and farmers in rural regions. OJK highlighted digitalization as a critical driver, particularly through the Alternative Credit Scoring (ACS) mechanism. “When businesses lose assets due to incidents such as disasters, digital records, from e-commerce transactions to mobile phone, are highly relevant, enabling banks to continue assessing borrowers’ creditworthiness,” stated Djoko Kurnijanto, Head of the Department of Regulatory and Licensing for Financial Sector Technology Innovation, Digital Financial Assets, and Crypto Assets at OJK.

In this context, OJK and the ILO have jointly developed several digitalization programs, including the dairy value chain ecosystem, through an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system integrated with ACS to improve financing distribution for smallholder dairy farmers and stimulate regional economic growth.

Meanwhile, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) shared key lessons and positive impacts from the Promoting Small and Medium Enterprises by Enhancing Their Access to Financial Services Phase 2 Project (PROMISE II IMPACT). The project has expanded access to affordable financial services by strengthening value chain ecosystems across three key sectors in three provinces: dairy in West Java, seaweed in Sumba, and patchouli in Aceh, while modernizing local financial institutions.

A total of 6,000 MSMEs accessed financing through Rural Banks (BPR) and Regional Development Banks (BPD), amounting to IDR 167 billion, supported by ILO initiatives, including the deployment of a Mobile Loan Application, upgrades to core banking systems, and the development of a Loan Origination System (LOS). Additionally, 3,610 MSMEs utilized savings and deposit services for investment and financial planning, amounting to IDR 20 billion, enabled through ILO’s support in strengthening BPR core banking systems.

Ariadirja Martoni, Deputy Head of SECO Indonesia, noted, “We see multi-stakeholder collaboration as key to the success of this initiative. Moving forward, we remain committed to strengthening a sustainable financial inclusion ecosystem. We will also work closely with the ILO to conduct further assessments and develop plans for the next phase.”

The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs commended ILO through PROMISE II IMPACT for increasing the awareness of formal financial access among local communities. The government views the programs as a model that can be adopted through Regional Financial Access Acceleration Teams (TPAKD). “These project-supported initiatives will be incorporated into TPAKD’s portfolio of strategic programs to ensure continuity,” said Erdiriyo, Assistant Deputy for Financial Inclusion Enhancement at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.

Closing the discussion, the ILO underscored that financial inclusion is a critical element in strengthening social well-being. When financial services align with decent work principles, the impact extends beyond enterprise resilience to improved social protection and expanded employment opportunities.

“Going forward, the ILO remains committed to advancing the financial inclusion agenda together with the government and financial institutions as part of efforts to catalyze progress toward a more equitable and sustainable labour market,” Djauhari concluded.

For more information, please contact:

Adelin Alexandra
ILO Communication Officer for PROMISE II IMPACT Project
[email protected]

Binance is set to explore the tokenization of up to $2 billion in bonds, treasury bills and commodity reserves in Pakistan, Reuters reported on Friday.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume highlights Pakistan’s push to use blockchain technology to unlock liquidity and attract foreign investment as it explores a formal crypto regulatory framework.

Pakistan’s Finance Ministry said the initiative could pave the way for tokenizing additional government-owned real-world assets and distributing them on blockchain-based platforms.

The announcement comes one day after the Chairman of Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Bilal Bin Saqib, announced in a video interview with CoinDesk his country’s plans to accelerate crypto adoption, leverage Bitcoin mining, and launch a national stablecoin.

Pakistan’s regulatory moves mirror a broader global trend. The United Arab Emirates, Japan and parts of the European Union are expanding formal licensing rules ‍for crypto exchanges amid broader global regulatory tightening.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said the agreement was “a great signal for the global blockchain industry and for Pakistan”, adding that it marks the start of a move toward full deployment of the tokenization initiative.

Also today, according to Reuters, the VARA said it issued early approvals to Binance and HTX after reviewing their governance and compliance controls, allowing them to register on the Anti-Money Laundering system, set up local units and prepare full applications.

Binance did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for more information.