Bijak Dana Perempuan, its flagship young program to empower women with financial knowledge and skills, gets boost with 3 accolades within last 3 months
Jakarta, 22 January 2009 -- GE Money's efforts to empower under-privileged women with financial knowledge and skills in Indonesia through its Bijak Dana Perempuan program was recognized with 2 international awards -- Best CSR Program (Retail Banking Awards 2009) and Certificate of Merit (Global CSR Awards).
The Retail Banking Awards was organised by Asian Banking & Finance Magazine and held in Singapore on 21 January 2009. The judging criteria for "Best CSR Program" included: driving motivation, demonstration of the effect of the program on the community, stakeholder value enhancement, etc. The Global CSR Awards organized by The Pinnacle Group International, in conjunction with the Global CSR Summit was held in Singapore on 14 January 2009.
These 2 accolades add to a grand total of 3 accolades presented to GE Money Indonesia within the last three months, following closely on the heels of the United Nations -- Metro TV Millenium Development Goals Award (Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women), which was presented on 29 October 2008.
Harry Sasongko, Chief Executive Officer of GE Money Indonesia said, "These accolades underscore the importance of women empowerment, and GE Money is proud to be able to make a difference to improving the lives of under-privileged women. The real winners are the women participants in the Bijak Dana Perempuan program. We are very encouraged by these women who have absorbed basic financial knowledge and expertise which they have leveraged to enhance the well-being of their families, and are aiming to take Bijak Dana Perempuan to a higher level of success in 2009 and beyond."
Since the launch of phase 1 of the program in August 2007 to benefit underprivileged women in the Lenteng Agung area in Jakarta, Bijak Dana Perempuan has already made a difference in the community:
* The response from the women participants exceeded targets by 67% to benefit about 1,000 people
* The participants' combined savings level surpassed expectations by more than 4 times
* 50% of women participants started or expanded their own micro-businesses to achieve more financial independence
* NPLs for microloans were 0%
The second phase of the program, recently launched in November 2008, aims to at least double the number of beneficiaries to about 2,500 people and expanding the coverage area to include women living in the Kebagusan area in South Jakarta.
Bijak Dana Perempuan' is part of GE's global Banking on WomenTM corporate citizenship program that seeks to empower the world's women by providing them with the knowledge and resources necessary to create opportunities for themselves and provide a better future for their families. In Asia, GE has reached over 16,000 women and students through its financial literacy programs for women and youths in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, India and Japan since 2006.
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About GE Money Indonesia
In 1992, GE Money established its presence in Indonesia as GE Consumer Finance and adopted its current "GE Money" global brand in 2005. Operating in 10 cities in Indonesia, PT. GE Finance Indonesia (GE Money) has been serving more than one million consumers with a wide range of credit card and vehicle financial solutions. Credit cards offered include the GE Money Shopping Card and GE Money Gold Card. Vehicle financial solutions are offered through PT. Astra Sedaya Finance (Cars) and PT. Federal International Finance (Motorcycle), and through BMW Financial Services. More information can be found at http://www.gemoney.co.id.
About Asian Banking & Finance Magazine
Asian Banking & Finance, headquartered in Singapore, is the leading publication for banking and finance executives in Asia. It focuses on commercial & retail banking and on securities markets from a banking perspective. News and analysis of bank moves and people are an important element of the magazine, and the technology section covers the latest information in banking systems. Editorial is aimed at general stories and specific analysis of issues relevant to commercial, retail and investment banking companies in Asia. Each issue blends the right amount of industry talk, inside information and insight, columnists and a special technology section.
About The Pinnacle Group International
The Pinnacle Group International is a leader in the conference industry in Asia , designing and launching its own brand of conferences and events. We are headquartered in Singapore with a supporting regional office in Shanghai , China.
We pride in our ability to anticipate and read underlying socio-economic and investment trends in emerging and developed markets, creating brands and events to capture these opportunities and launching them with our clients and partners in both regional and international markets
For more information, please contact:
Roger Pua
Phone: +65 9653 3590
Email: roger.pua@ge,com
Ani Rahardjo
Phone: +62 21 575 3644
Email: [email protected]
Corporate Communications
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