Beware Of Illegal Loans! OJK Trains Thousands Of MSME Women Through The SICANTIKS Program

JAKARTA - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) continues to strive to improve national financial literacy and inclusion for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), especially women, through the SICANTIKS program (Ibu Literacy Cap and Sharia Financial Inclusion).

This program was attended by 100 members of the Family Empowerment and Welfare Mobilization Team (PKK) of South Sumatra Province and 400 MSME Assistance of PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) offline, as well as 4,917 PT PNM MSME Assistance online from the Sumatra regional area.

Chief Executive of the Behavior Supervisory of Financial Services Business Actors, Education and Protection of OJK Consumers Friderica Widyasari Dewi said that women have a strategic role as the spearhead in guiding the community.

"Women are the first madrasas for their children. Therefore, OJK places women as one of the 10 priority segments of financial education for financial management to improve family welfare," Friderica said in an official statement, Sunday, May 18.

According to Friderica, women are more aware of digital crimes that are increasingly prevalent, such as illegal online loans (pinjol), fraudulent investments, and scam-based fraud and deepfake AI.

Furthermore, Friderica said that the OJK will also continue to invite all stakeholders, including financial institutions, local governments, women's organizations, and legislatures to work together in expanding the reach of consumer literacy and protection.

I want to leave three things. First, financial education for women. Second, you have to understand Islamic financial literacy and inclusion that creates future generations of financial literate. Third, synergy and collaboration, OJK cannot work alone, so this must be synergized and collaborated," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the South Sumatra Province PKK Mobilization Team, Feby Herman Deru, assessed that the SICANTIS program is very relevant and needed by housewives and female MSME actors.

Many families are actually financially adequate, but due to the lack of financial literacy, they have finally remained underprivileged families. With this training, I hope that PKK cadres can become agents of change in the family and society," said Feby.

Feby also encourages the sustainability of financial training to regencies/cities throughout South Sumatra through synergies between OJK and PKK.

For your information, the SICANTIKS program is the result of collaboration between OJK and PT PNM which will continue to be carried out throughout 2025 in various parts of Indonesia, including Jabodetabek, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.

To ensure the sustainability of the SICANTIKS program throughout Indonesia, OJK has also prepared an educational module that can be utilized by all Islamic financial literacy ambassadors related to Islamic finance, wise financial management, and more vigilant in dealing with financial crime phenomena in the current digital era.