A boost of skills and funding for this forward-thinking chilli farmer
Aminah is a West Java farmer who has seen an opportunity for growth during the covid pandemic. Her desire to build her own women-led agribusiness and support people in her community, has helped her secure Impact Investment funding and skills training from CROWDE, backed by Good Return. She is using her loan and new financial planning skills to diversify her business and inspire businesswomen around her.
Aminah is 51 years old with three dependents. She is from Garut in West Java, Indonesia and owns her own women-led agribusiness in the chilli agricultural value chain. Aminah’s chilli agribusiness employs six people from her local community, three of whom are women.
Aminah was inspired to become a farmer from a young age, following in the footsteps of her parents. However, Aminah faced challenges accessing finance and investment to grow her business. Despite having a formal banking account, she was unable to obtain loans from financial institutions or the government — a situation many women in Indonesia sadly face due to a lack of sufficient collateral, lack of history with formal banking institutions and prevailing gender norms. Recognising Aminah’s determination and passion to make a difference in her sector, startup fintech CROWDE helped Aminah to overcome this obstacle and provided her with a loan, supported by part guarantee by Good Return.
From the outset, Aminah had clear objectives in what she wanted to achieve with her loan. First, she wanted to rent her neighbour’s land to plant chilli. Second, she was determined to buy and own her own land by the end of her contract, so she could plant a greater variety of commodities and arrange her own planting schedules.
Aminah recognised this was not only a potentially fruitful opportunity in the face of covid, but also an important strategy to provide others in her community, especially women, with employment during the pandemic.
“When covid hit, smallholder farmers were acutely impacted and land became neglected due to a lack of capital”, explains Aminah . “After collaborating with CROWDE, previously unused land can be used to increase my own and other’s family income’.
Aminah recognises the benefits of receiving a loan from CROWDE goes beyond access to finance to include technical assistance. Previously, Aminah’s education and knowledge of agricultural practices was limited to the skills she had self-taught on the job. CROWDE helped Aminah build her financial planning knowledge, and practical skills. Aminah particularly enjoyed the training sessions held by fertiliser companies in collaboration with Toko Tani CROWDE, and has found the support she received in pest and plant diseases particularly helpful for improving both the quantity and quality of her output.
The financial assistance from Good Return and CROWDE means Aminah can fund her farming without taking money from family funds. She can build a sustainable future for her business and her message to other female farmers is inspiring: “As a woman, we are often underestimated, but I want to encourage all women out there to not be afraid to be whatever you want to be. I was brave enough to try and now I am happy with the result I got. Don't stop dreaming!”
Find out more about Good Return’s Impact Investment fund.