Jakarta. Women’s financial literacy is on the rise. In 2022, WealthTech app Pluang did a survey on retail investment. Most of the female respondents on the survey admitted they are setting aside at least 20 percent of their income for investments.

Boosting passive income and preparing emergency funds are among the top three reasons for women to invest. They are also investing to prepare for their children’s education fund. This shows how women’s motivation to invest leans towards the family’s future finances, unlike the majority of the respondents who mainly choose to invest for their retirement preparation.

The results of the 2022 nationwide financial literacy and inclusion survey by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) also showed some improvements on the women’s side. For the first time in the triennial survey, women’s financial literacy is beating that of men’s at 50.33 percent and 49.05 percent, respectively. Women’s financial inclusion also rose from 75.15 percent in 2019 to 83.88 percent in 2022.

As it gets easier for women to use digital financial services, improving their financial literacy is pivotal to make sure that such technologies are a boon for their productivity. 

“With a smartphone, you can make financial transactions at your fingertips. Financial literacy helps women to manage their finances more effectively by optimizing the accessibility provided by a digital platform,” Kartika Dewi, the head of corporate communication at Pluang, said at a recent Suara Perempuan talk show on women and fintech.

To better meet women’s financial needs, a stronger female representation within the fintech industry is pivotal.

Tika said, “Therefore we [need] to boost the visibility of women leaders in the fintech industry through participation in public events or training programs for female entrepreneurs.”

“We need to fortify the startups founded by women. Investors should be aware of the gender bias that can affect their assessment of the business ideas by female founders, particularly in the male-dominated sector like fintech,” Tika added.

Female representation in leadership should become a new workplace culture. Their representation is not only achievable, but also can help drive the fintech sector’s growth, according to Tika.

Pluang is one of the startup members of the Indonesian Fintech Association (AFTECH) to have a female leader, with Claudia Kolonas as its co-founder. 

Women represent at least 30 percent of the Pluang employees. Most of them also hold strategic positions in the top-level management. This female representation at the top brass is expected to help Pluang come up with technological innovations to answer the financial needs of Indonesian women. Pluang also hopes to set an example for other companies in the tech industry. 

As a woman in fintech, Claudia is aware of how investment today is still only limited to several groups of people. This prompted Claudia to establish Pluang to enable people to invest at an affordable price starting at just Rp 5,000. Pluang also introduced itself as a safe and trustworthy investment platform to use. The startup says it makes sure of the legality aspect of the different assets available on the platform.

For US Stocks, crypto, and digital gold, Pluang teams up with PT PG Berjangka, PT Bumi Santosa Cemerlang, and PT Pluang Emas Sejahtera, which are licensed and supervised by Bappebti. Pluang has partnered with PT Sarana Santosa Sejati for mutual funds. PT Sarana Santosa Sejati is supervised and licensed by OJK as a mutual fund selling agent.

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