About RUMA

Rekan Usaha Mikro Anda – Your Micro Business Partner (RUMA) is an Indonesia social enterprise incubated by Grameen Foundation by empowering women especially the poor and poorest with profitable microfranchise business solutions and products and services to underserved communities in Jakarta and its surrounding cities – which are chosen where more incident poverty occurs.

RUMA is currently offering its flagship microfranchise business, “Jual Pulsa”, which enables the entrepreneur to sell phone calls, electronic pulsa, and low-end mobile phones. This business has proven to attract women which conduct the business from their home or warung (small shops). In its first year and a half of operation, RUMA has deployed more than 6,500 microfranchise businesses and is on track to reach sustainability. 60% of the businesses are owned and operated by micro-entrepreneurs earning less than $2.50 per day. 80% are operated by women, and 100% are profitable. RUMA has been well recognized winning 1st prize in Harvard Social Enterprise conference and 2nd prize at Berkeley, Columbia, and LSE Global Social Venture Competitions.

On the field Story – Ibu Umi in Bekasi

• Ibu Umi is 57 year old woman that lives alone in one of the outer areas of Jakarta, Bekasi.
• When her husband passed away in 2007 – she didn’t know how she would continue her life. She was laden with debt, her house was repossessed and she had no money to travel back home to her visit family.
• With her strong determination she set up a warung (small kiosk) selling everyday goods, coffee and cold drinks for commuters who pass her house. However the income from the warung wasn’t stable enough to support her and she realized she needed additional income.
• When she first joined RUMA as a Village Phone Operator (VPO), she didn’t even know what a mobile phone was. All she knew was that a mobile phone could be used to communicate with her family in Central Java. With the help of RUMA’s Field Officers, she learnt that the phone could be used to to sell air time and develop a stable strong stream of income. RUMA Field Officier Ani provides Ibu Umi with friendship beyond just business. (picture above)
• Currently Ibu Umi makes an extra $20/week and she has used this extra income to maintain her warung and to expand to a chicken farming business.

Panelist to Represent RUMA – Thilma Komaling, Business Development Manager

As a Business Development and Human Capital Manager of PT RUMA, Thilma Komaling has been focusing on strengthening RUMA to ensure the social enterprise has a solid foundation both operationally and culturally. RUMA is an Indonesian for-profit Social Enterprise incubated by Grameen Foundation with the mission of empowering the poor leveraging mobile technology with current 6,400 clients which spread all around Java.

Thilma is also an active fundraiser of an orangutan conservation organization and has just recently realized that the country of Indonesia is one of her true passions in life. Her diverse background and wide spread interest includes air pollution control, disaster management, wildlife conservation, and small and medium enterprise-business development. Her exposure in film and media started by working with Minikino – a Bali based short film distributor to founding a publicist firm for local film and books.