Wahid Foundation Releases Maitra, Digital Platform For Women's Economic Independence

Wahid Foundation Director, Yenny Wahid delivered his remarks at the launch of Maitra in Jakarta, Sunday (9/11/2025). (ANTARA/HO-Wahid Foundation)

JAKARTA - The Wahid Foundation released a community-based digital initiative, Maitra, which aims to strengthen economic and social independence for grassroots women throughout Indonesia.

Wahid Foundation Director Yenny Wahid, in a statement received in Jakarta on Sunday, said that this movement has a root in the belief that true peace cannot be separated from social justice and economic welfare.

He explained that Maitra's launch was a continuation of Damai Village and Cinta Damai Wahid Cooperative, two initiatives that became the basis for women's movements in building peace, social solidarity, and economic independence at the community level.

Since 2013, we have built the Damai Village as a space for women to play, dialogue, and build trust across differences. Now, through the Cinta Damai Wahid Cooperative and the Maitra digital platform, we want to ensure that women, especially those most vulnerable, not only have votes, but also have access, opportunities, and the power to organize their lives," he said.

According to Yenny, the Maitra platform will function as a digital ecosystem that connects value, capital, and social solidarity to open access to capital, digital training, and inter-community networks in various regions.

The launch of Maitra, he said, was Wahid Foundation's strategic step to expand the reach of peaceful economic movements so that more and more women could improve their livelihood, expand opportunities, and grow together towards independence.

"When women grow up, family becomes strong and when the family is strong, Indonesia becomes more peaceful and empowered," said Yenny.

He explained, since 2013, the Wahid Foundation initiated the Damai Village movement, a community-based empowerment model that places women as the main driver of peace and social inclusion.

To date, more than 41 Damai Villages have grown in seven provinces, reaching more than 80,000 residents and involving thousands of women and youth as peace agents at the local level.

In 2017, the Wahid Foundation together with the women community then formed the Cinta Damai Wahid Cooperative. The goal is as a collective economic forum that ensures peace is reflected in the welfare of the family.

Currently, Yenny said, the cooperative already has more than 1,960 active female members and a loan repayment rate of 98 percent. In addition, she said more than 200 women's micro-enterprises grew from this ecosystem.

The Maitra, which was officially launched this Sunday, was jointly developed by the Cinta Damai Wahid Cooperative.