Indonesia Women in Finance Conference 2026 to Encourage the Birth of More Women Entrepreneurs Indonesia

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - The Indonesia Women in Finance (IWF) 2026 Annual Conference was successfully held today with the theme "Empowering Women in Entrepreneurship: Building Your Own Venture". This conference is a platform for female leaders, business actors, professionals, and communities to share experiences in building businesses, leading transformation, and encouraging more Indonesian women to become resilient and impactful entrepreneurs.

The conference was opened by the Executive Board Member of CFA Society Indonesia, Melisa Hendrawati, CFA (CFO of PT Super Bank Indonesia Tbk.) together with Siti Rakhmawati, CFA (Director of Investment & Finance of Dapen Telkom). A number of inspiring women figures also attended as speakers, including Dayu Dara Permata (CEO & Founder of Pinhome), Yessie D. Yosetya (Director & Chief Information Technology Officer of PT XLSmart Telecom Sejahtera Tbk.), Ellin Waty (Founder of EC2), Lany Wong, CFA (CFO of PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk.), and Susanna Angraini (Founder & CEO of Yoona Digital Indonesia). The discussion was guided by Hany Gungoro, CFA (People & Numbers - Paxcis Identity).

Embracing the spirit of building a business in an increasingly dynamic era, the conference discusses five main perspectives that are challenges and questions for every prospective entrepreneur: Are we ready? How do we build efficiently with technology? How do we balance business, family, and personal life? How do we finance growth? as well as How do we build resilience and confidence?

In her opening remarks, Melisa Hendrawati emphasized that women's empowerment in the world of entrepreneurship is no longer just an issue of equality, but a strategic need for Indonesia's economic growth.

"Our challenge today is no longer to prove that women are capable. The real challenge is to ensure that they have access to capital, technology, networks, mentors, and the confidence to build sustainable businesses. When more women are entrepreneurs, the impact is not only felt by their families, but also by the national economy," said Melisa, Sunday, July 5.

Meanwhile, Siti Rakhmawati highlighted the contribution of women in the MSME sector, which is the backbone of Indonesia's economy. According to him, women have great potential as economic drivers, but still face various challenges in gaining access to financing, networks, and business development opportunities. Therefore, support from all stakeholders is key in accelerating the birth of more women entrepreneurs in Indonesia.

In addition to the panel discussion session, participants also attended Speedy Mentoring, an interactive mentoring session that brings participants face-to-face with female leaders and industry practitioners. In this session, participants had the opportunity to discuss career development, business building, leadership, to strategies for facing various professional challenges.

The conference also became a momentum for the introduction of the book Career Jungle, by Hany Gungoro, Melisa Hendrawati (CFA Society Indonesia), and Steve Balaban (CFA Society Canada). This book was born out of the realization that the current working world has fundamentally changed. If in the past the career journey was likened to a ladder that must be climbed gradually, now the career is more like a jungle - dynamic, complex, full of change, and at the same time offers unlimited opportunities for those who are adaptive and continue to learn. This concept was then embodied in the metaphor of The Career Jungle.

Through the implementation of the Indonesia Women in Finance Conference 2026, IWF hopes to continue to build an ecosystem that encourages collaboration, mentoring, and professional networking for Indonesian women. Hopefully, this conference will not only be a forum for sharing inspiration, but also give birth to more women who dare to build businesses, lead organizations, and make a real contribution to Indonesia's economic growth.