Let’s Invest, Girls! Collaborating with PMI Sumut, Realizing Resilient Young Women Movement in "The Power From Within" Workshop

Medan, 3 November 2023 – Let’s Invest, Girls! as a non-profit organization that focuses on strengthening and empowering young Indonesian women in collaboration with the Indonesian Red Cross of North Sumatra Province (PMI Sumut), today held a financial literacy, leadership, and communication workshop themed “The Power From Within”. The event was attended by 30 high school/vocational school participants from Deli Serdang district to provide insights, inspiration, and tips on financial literacy, leadership, and communication.

Elvera N. Makki, Initiator of Let’s Invest, Girls! stated, “Let’s Invest, Girls! has a mission to make young Indonesian women smart to manage, mitigate risks, and develop finances independently. Not only that, the foundation of this movement is to strengthen and empower Indonesian women to be able to optimize their potential, realize their dreams, and become the best version of themselves. Since 2022, our program has reached 400 high school/vocational school students represented from Aceh to Papua.”

Results from the Financial Services Authority’s National Survey on Financial Literacy and Inclusion (SNLIK) in 2022 showed that the financial literacy index of Indonesians was 49.68 percent, up from 38.03 percent in 2019, but there is still a gap with the level of financial inclusion (85.1%). In North Sumatra, the large difference between the financial literacy and inclusion indexes is also striking, at 51.69% and 95.58% respectively. “This data also encourages Let’s Invest, Girls! to intensify financial literacy programs that focus on young women as a group that is very decisive in making financial decisions not only for themselves, but also when starting a family later, so they must be equipped with the right practical financial knowledge and insights from the start,” continued Elvera.

DR. H. Rahmat Shah, Chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross of North Sumatra stated in his speech, “We are very pleased with the collaboration with Let’s Invest, Girls! in advancing the quality and future of Indonesian young women, especially in North Sumatra. This program is in line with our values, including humanity, volunteerism, equality, independence and unity. This activity is also included in our strategic objectives, which are to increase sustainable partnerships to serve the community, as well as to increase the capacity of PMI’s organizational resources, especially the Youth Red Cross.”

Let’s Invest, Girls! was formed on the basis of concern for women, especially to help overcome the things that happen to women negatively due to low understanding of financial literacy, lack of confidence, oppressed in their environment, mentally disturbed due to lack of positive support, and other things that cause them to feel they are not or less valuable.

Cindy Aulia, one of the participants of “The Power From Within” Workshop gave a positive comment when invited by the school of SMK Tritech Informatika Medan to participate in the workshop, “I am very happy that LIG held a workshop in Medan. I personally have never participated in an event that raises financial issues. As a school student who has started to have more and more needs… of course, basic knowledge about financial management and character building will have a huge impact in the future if it is nurtured from a young age.”

The 15-year-old SMK student also hopes that after attending the LIG workshop, her knowledge and understanding of financial management will have a good impact on her future. In line with the purpose of LIG, which is to develop self-potential and realize the dreams of women to believe in the best version of themselves.

About LIG
Let’s Invest, Girls! (LIG) is a non-profit literacy initiative for young women to be smart in managing, mitigating risks, and developing finances independently. Not only that, the foundation of the LIG movement is to strengthen and empower Indonesian women to optimize their potential, realize their dreams, and become the best version of themselves. LIG was formed out of concern for the things that happen to women negatively due to low financial literacy, lack of confidence, oppressed in their environment, mentally disturbed due to lack of positive support, and other things that cause them to feel less valuable.

LIG is part of VMCS Advisory Indonesia, a Public Relations and Social Impact consultancy with a mission to contribute to the wider community through various programs and initiatives.