The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is collaborating with Indonesian locals to boosts microinsurance safety nets and make insurance more broadly available for tens of millions of informal economy workers and families amid COVID-19, IFC said, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
IFC said in a statement that it will provide PasarPolis, an Indonesian insurtech firm, with 5 million U.S. dollars in equity finance to develop infrastructure to connect insurers, digital platforms and customers unserved by the traditional insurance sector.
Azam Khan, IFC Country Manager for Indonesia, Malaysia and Timor-Leste, said the cooperation comes at a crucial time. "The challenges that many Indonesians face in their day-to-day lives have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the health crisis it has brought as well as the devastating hit to the economy."
"IFC is excited to make this investment in PasarPolis, as it gears up to expand its digital distribution channels, making insurance more accessible and affordable, especially for the underserved and those living in remote areas," Khan said.
Data from IFC shows Indonesia, the world's fourth most-populous country with more than 270 million people, is home to almost 78 million Indonesians working in the informal economy, in casual and part-time roles as street vendors and domestic servants and running small businesses.
IFC said many of the industries in which they work are unregulated, meaning tens of millions fall outside of social welfare frameworks.
Indonesia, the largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has been hit hard by COVID-19. The country is expected to post its first annual contraction in the gross domestic product (GDP) since 1998 last year as the pandemic hit consumption and business activity, costing millions of jobs.
Indonesia on Thursday reported 11,434 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number in the country to 1,123,105.