Bank Mandiri
A rare glittering star in Indonesia’s fading state-owned corporate firmament, Mandiri is well-placed to service the country’s emergent small and medium-sized enterprises, with authorities channeling subsidies and advantages to the grassroots via Mandiri’s nationwide network.
Tapping guaranteed fund sources might make a state bureaucracy a little limp but not so Mandiri. CEO Kartika Wirjoatmodjo sees it as an opportunity to advance the national economy while also spreading the message of financial inclusion in a country that has a long way to go.
Mandiri’s SME loan book is valued at around Rph60 trillion ($4.5 billion). The bank has taken its SME message beyond Indonesia’s shores by targetting the country’s $9 billion-strong remittance army of domestic maids working in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Gulf, in campaigns encouraging them to prepare for their eventual return home to a small business, or to buy or improve a home or invest in education.