Mrs. Erna's Inspirational Story: Growing Together with Batavia Maju Bersama Cooperative

The Beginning of Mrs. Erna's Story


On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, the DME (Design Monitoring Evaluation) team had the opportunity to conduct monitoring and evaluation in Rawa Badak Selatan area. There, the DME team met with Mrs. Erna, a beneficiary of the Batavia Community Development Program (CDP), who is also a Batavia Maju Bersama (BMB) Cooperative member.

As a 46-year-old housewife, Mrs. Erna had one goal, improving her family’s well-being. One way to do this was by helping her family financially. Depending solely on her husband’s income wasn’t enough to cover daily expenses, school fees, and other household needs.

To achieve this, Mrs. Erna intended to start a small business selling fritters. However, she faced a challenge—she lacked funds to get started.
With a sad tone, she shared that she initially wanted to borrow money from her relatives, but felt hesitant knowing their financial situation wasn’t great either. She also considered borrowing from a local moneylender, but the high interest rate of 40% and daily repayment schedule discouraged her.

Eventually, she started saving up from the small amount her husband gave her for daily needs. But it wasn’t easy. Every time her savings reached around IDR 300,000, an emergency would come up, like paying for her child’s medical bills or helping a relative, forcing her to use her savings.
 

Challenges in Starting a Business




After 1.5 years of saving, Mrs. Erna managed to collect Rp500,000. She immediately used this money to start her fritters business in 2022. Her main target was the children in her neighborhood, as she noticed there were no similar businesses around.

Despite all the activity around, her sales didn’t improve. This was mainly because she was only selling one type of snack in limited quantities. Her daily revenue was only about Rp100,000. She wanted to expand her menu and stock but didn’t have the extra capital to do so. The only financial option in her area was a local moneylender, but the terms were strict.
 

Batavia Maju Bersama Cooperative Socialization


After a year of running her business, Mrs. Erna was invited to attend a socialization about the Batavia Maju Bersama Cooperative. A cooperative officer, who lived nearby, encouraged her to join.

After attending the socialization, she saw many other women joining the cooperative, which piqued her interest. She also learned how easy it was to become a member—all you needed was a small business. The cooperative offered high initial loan amounts, didn’t require collateral, and had a low-interest rate of just 18%, with monthly repayments. Another factor that motivated her to join was that her child was a GNI (Gugah Nurani Indonesia) sponsor child.
 

Experience with Batavia Maju Bersama Cooperative


After joining the cooperative, Mrs. Erna took out her first loan of IDR 3,000,000 in 2023, and then a second loan of IDR 5,000,000 in 2024. She has already repaid the first loan, and the second loan is two months into its term. She always pays her installments on time.

With a bright smile, Mrs. Erna shared how these loans allowed her to grow her business. She was able to increase the quantity of her products and diversify her offerings. In addition to fritters, she now sells meatballs and sempol ayam (Indonesian chicken skewers).

As her business grew, so did her daily revenue, increasing from IDR 100,000 to around IDR 300,000 or more.
 

Achieving Her Goals


Her growing business has significantly helped her meet her family’s daily needs and pay for her children’s education. It has also enabled her to make her loan repayments without difficulty. She is now able to reinvest her profits into the business, buying more ingredients and expanding her menu. She pays her cooperative installments in person, through cooperative officers, or via bank transfer.

When asked about the impact of being a cooperative member, she enthusiastically responded that she has gained not only financial benefits but also knowledge and connections.

For example, at the Annual Member Meetings (RAT), members share experiences and learn about cooperative principles, savings, and retirement planning. She has also made new friends, who support and share ideas with each other about running their businesses.

Mrs. Erna’s story is just one of many success stories from the beneficiaries of cooperatives managed by GNI. Discover more inspiring stories from other cooperative members and share this story to spread inspiration to those around you!

Read more inspiring stories:
Empowered Housewife: From Karate Athlete to Owning Her Cake Shop 
Mr. Winarto's Dream: A Food Business with a Greater Purpose

Written by: Ryan Sumedi
Edited by: FD Team