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| Source: AirAsia. The Letter of Intent (LOI) between AirAsia and PBMT Indonesia was signed by AirAsia Berhad CEO, Aireen Omar, AirAsia Indonesia President Director, Sunu Widyatmoko, and President of PBMT, Jularso. It was witnessed by AirAsia Group CEO, Tony Fernandes, AirAsia X Group CEO, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and President Director of PBMT Ventura, Saat Suharto Amjad. |
Productive communities are where the impoverished are being engaged in productive activities, enabling them to sustain themselves and to improve their standards of living in the long-term. According to Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS), as of September 2014, 27.73 million Indonesians or 10.96% of the country’s total population live below the poverty line. The development of productive communities is therefore pivotal to address such social issues.
AirAsia has established operations in five countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and India. The airline’s mission is to serve the underserved through low fares and extensive connectivity. PBMT is one of the largest shari'ah microfinance groups in the world, with the objective to eradicate poverty by developing productive communities in Indonesia through various financial products and services, economic empowerment programmes and social activities.
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “We are pleased to enter into a collaborative partnership with PBMT Indonesia in developing productive communities. AirAsia and PBMT share similar values - to give hope, to realise dreams, and to create opportunities for everyone to improve their quality of life. AirAsia was established because we had a dream to democratise the aviation industry and today, we are making hundreds of millions of dreams come true. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to fostering socio-economic development in Indonesia, and is also one of our ways of giving back to the community in the market that we serve.”
“We will also explore other opportunities for PBMT members with other companies within our group such as Tune Hotels and Tune Money,” Fernandes added.
The President of PBMT Jularso said, “This collaboration will bring our productive community development programmes to the next level as the synergies created from the collaboration will open doors to new ideas, resources and opportunities. Furthermore, this collaboration will also allow both organisations to significantly increase their social impact, especially on micro and small enterprises and the underprivileged people.”
The partnership between AirAsia and PBMT will see both parties leverage on each other’s resources and market presence. AirAsia is today the largest airline in Asia serving more than 200 routes to over 100 destinations in 22 countries, while PBMT’s network is spread across Indonesia with more than 700 branches nationwide and a membership of more than 2.2 million consisting mainly of micro and small enterprises.
The collaborative agreement will include an opportunity for micro entrepreneurs under PBMT to promote and sell their products such as meals, drinks and merchandises on board AirAsia flights.
Members of PBMT will also be provided with the facility to travel affordably across AirAsia's extensive network. AirAsia’s low fares will enable PBMT members to further develop their business ventures, visit their relatives, and Indonesian workers in Malaysia to return home more often, resulting to a boost in intra-Indonesia travels.
Additionally, AirAsia will provide an opportunity for PBMT members to sell AirAsia’s products and services. In supporting this initiative, AirAsia will develop coaching programmes and training modules for the members of PBMT, including but not limited to product knowledge transfer, management workshops, brand forums and sales training. In doing so, AirAsia equips PBMT members with the necessary skills and knowledge to successfully and effectively grow their businesses.