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Amartha, an Indonesian microlending platform founded in 2010, together with partner institutions Women’s World Banking, SME Finance Forum, and Accion, held The 2024 Asia Grassroots Forum.

Hosted by Amartha, the inaugural global two-day forum (May 21–22) gathered investors, entrepreneurs, innovators, and policymakers to unlock the transformative potential of Asia’s grassroots economies. By fostering innovation in tech and finance, the forum aimed to empower a more resilient global community and dive deeper into impact investing.

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) thrive across Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia, home to millions of MSMEs, accounting for up to 40% of the region’s economy. Notably, microbusinesses represent up to 94% of MSMEs, playing a pivotal role as an economic engine, particularly in countries like Indonesia.

Breathing Life to MSMEs at The 2024 Asia Grassroots Forum

Despite their significant contribution, 90% of micro merchants in Southeast Asia encounter barriers such as limited credit access, challenges in securing loans due to insufficient collateral and credit history, and low financial digital literacy, particularly in rural areas.

Against this backdrop, FinTech players like Amartha, have been playing a key role in providing accessible services to underserved communities, with a larger proportion of microenterprises, compared to medium-sized ones, borrowing from FinTech lending services.

“For 14 years, Amartha has thrived by harnessing the immense, yet often overlooked, potential of the grassroots economy. Our strong financial performance, including three consecutive years of profitability, is a testament to this potential,” said Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, CEO at and Founder of Amartha.

Taufan further said: “We invite all stakeholders in the region, and globally, to join us in exploring and empowering this vital sector. This forum aims to be the catalyst for collaboration, gathering diverse tech and finance players in the grassroots economy. Together, we can build a more resilient society equipped to face global challenges.”

The drive towards financial inclusion also coincides with the rise of impact investments in the region. Southeast Asia and, in particular, Indonesia have become popular impact investment spots, allowing global investors and institutions to diversify their portfolios in growing markets while making a social impact.

From 2020 to 2022, impact investors committed more than 67% of the total capital invested in the entire 10-year period from 2007–2016 in Southeast Asia, showcasing the acceleration of impact investment activity in the region.

“Today I would like to invite everyone to join forces, across borders and backgrounds, to collaborate on a shared agenda: scaling impact, digitising MSMEs, and fostering inclusive economic growth for the prosperity of our communities,” Taufan added.

Innovative Financing Is the Key

The 2024 Asia Grassroots Forum discussed how innovative financing, like impact investing and social entrepreneurship, can unlock billion-dollar opportunities for ASEAN’s base-of-pyramid businesses.

The different sessions then aimed to address the unique challenges of these markets and explore how investors can effectively measure and scale social and environmental impact alongside financial returns.

“Financial services are powerful tools to help reduce poverty and create opportunity. With responsible and secure digital services, micro-entrepreneurs can make informed choices and build more resilient businesses. We’re thrilled to continue our impactful partnership with Amartha by collaborating on this inaugural event to drive inclusive growth for the grassroots economy across ASEAN, building on our success in Indonesia,” said Michael Schlein, President and CEO at Accion.

(Left to right) Panel moderator; Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, Founder of and CEO at Amartha; Christina Juhasz, Chief Investment Officer at Women’s World Banking Asset Management; and Michael Schlein, President and CEO at Accion 

Christina Juhasz, Chief Investment Officer at Women’s World Banking Asset Management (WAM), stated: “The underrepresentation of women in ASEAN entrepreneurship is a truly missed opportunity. The 2024 Asia Grassroots Forum hosted by Amartha provides a valuable platform for collaboration with diverse stakeholders. Together, we are able to discuss how to develop innovative strategies to address the specific challenges faced by women-led SMEs, unlocking their full potential to drive economic growth.”

Qamar Saleem, Global Head at SME Finance Forum, emphasised at The 2024 Asia Grassroots Forum the necessity for a collaborative effort within the financial industry to develop innovative financial products tailored specifically to the needs of women-led businesses.

“At SME Finance Forum, we firmly believe that scaling these initiatives is socially impactful and financially sound. We are enthusiastic about the Asia Grassroots Forum as it serves as a platform to realize this collective objective. We are committed to partnering with our members, scaling their initiatives, and celebrating their successes,” he said.

Taufan concluded: “The 2024 Asia Grassroots Forum aspires to drive prosperity, empowering the underserved grassroots segment and generating widespread positive impact. Looking ahead, we envision this platform evolving into the leading beacon for Asia’s grassroots economic empowerment in the years to come.”

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