One Spirit, One Mission: Amartha Supports the Amartha Hangtuah Basketball Team for the Upcoming Season

Press Release: For Immediate Release

Jakarta, July 26, 2019

Amartha, a trusted fintech company that has been empowering hundreds of thousands of female micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas, is sponsoring the Hangtuah Jakarta basketball team as the main sponsor for the upcoming 2019–2020 Indonesia Basketball League (IBL) season. This major support from Amartha has led to the team being renamed Amartha – Hangtuah Basketball.

Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, CEO and founder of Amartha fintech—which received OJK approval in May 2019—sees a parallel between the spirit demonstrated by the Amartha Hangtuah players and Amartha’s “underdog mentality.” “Amartha has seen the hard work demonstrated by the Hangtuah players over the past two seasons; Hangtuah deserves our support. They’ve shown that despite all their limitations, through hard work they can break into the top tier—just as Amartha is committed to challenging the status quo,” said Taufan.

The president of the Amartha-Hangtuah basketball club, Gading R. Joedo, will leverage Amartha’s support to re-sign experienced senior player Kelly Purwanto to the roster. “Hangtuah has a strategy to boost our performance in the upcoming season, one of which is bringing in experienced guard Kelly Purwanto to pair with our rising star, Abraham Wenas,” said Gading.

Gading is confident that the team—which has been playing together for the past 2–3 years—will improve if they are not distracted by financial issues.

Back in 2018, the Hangtuah team faced financial difficulties. Despite this, the Amartha Hangtuah team had managed to reach the top four in the 2018 IBL competition, while also securing the Rookie of the Year award for their young player, Abraham Wenas.

Amartha Fintech is not only the main sponsor of the Amartha Hangtuah basketball team for the 2019–2020 Indonesia Basketball League (IBL) season. Amartha also supports all activities of the Hangtuah Basketball Academy, which, since 2016, has been training more than 250 children aged 6–18.

“Amartha recognizes the Hangtuah Basketball Academy’s commitment to developing the potential of young and female basketball players in Jakarta. This aligns with Amartha Fintek’s mission to support Indonesia’s resilient women,” said Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, CEO and founder of Amartha Fintek.

Senior player Kelly Purwanto also welcomed Amartha Fintek’s support for her team. “Amartha Fintek’s support for the future of Indonesian basketball is a tangible demonstration that the basketball industry can deliver business value as well as a positive impact on the community,” said Kelly.

About Amartha Fintek

Amartha is a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending fintech company that is registered with and licensed by the Financial Services Authority (OJK). Amartha connects more than 250,000 female micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas who need working capital with individual funders seeking alternative investment opportunities with attractive returns, while simultaneously creating a positive social impact for the lowest socioeconomic strata.

Unlike other fintech companies, Amartha provides group-based mentoring to all its borrower partners to help their businesses grow and thrive. This approach has successfully increased the income of Amartha’s female partners by nearly 60 percent and reduced their poverty rate by 22 percent.

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