FWD Insurance presents InnovateHer Academy 2.0 as a part of continuous commitment in women's empowerment to promoting financial inclusion

Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, this year, PT FWD Insurance Indonesia ("FWD Insurance") launches the InnovateHer Academy 2.0 initiative, a programme designed to empower female founders of startups in the technology and innovation sectors who focus on providing impactful solutions for Indonesia.

InnovateHer Academy 2.0 is a continuous effort by FWD Insurance to celebrate the power of women in entrepreneurship and is part of the FWD 11 Community Care Grants in celebration of FWD's 11th anniversary.

Looking back to the first InnovateHer Academy in 2023 which successfully supported 10 female entrepreneurs in kick-starting their businesses, in its second year InnovateHer Academy 2.0 aims to provide support programs for 8 selected female startup founders at the MVP level, focusing on the initiation, development, and implementation of pilot projects, guided by experts.

Desy N. Widjaja, President Director of FWD Insurance explained, “We understand that women play an important role as agents of change in empowering the national economy. Women have the ability to drive innovation, create jobs, and make a significant impact on our economy. However, there’s still so much work to be done to ensure that women receive equal opportunities in the startup ecosystem, including access to funding and the necessary resources to grow their startups.”

According to data from Crunchbase and Statista, the proportion of venture capital funding for startups founded by women remains low and hasn’t significantly changed over the past decade. Furthermore, BPS data reveals a significant gender disparity in managerial positions, with women occupying only 1 of 3 women in such roles and earning lower salaries. This gender bias poses substantial challenges for women entrepreneurs, hindering their professional growth. The scarcity of female role models further exacerbates these issues, limiting motivation and inspiration for aspiring women business owners.

“Through InnovateHer Academy 2.0, we invite all female startup founders to enhance their skills, knowledge, and network connections to scale their businesses, enabling them to make a real contribution to Indonesia's economy. This is our effort in realising our vision of changing the way people feel about insurance.” added Desy.

InnovateHer Academy 2.0 received support from UN Women Indonesia and collaborates with KUMPUL.ID, one of the largest ecosystem enablers in Indonesia, drives the entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem by catalyzing the growth of the creative and digital economy through programs that accelerate the creation of successful businesses through education empowerment and strong business network connections.

The eight selected female-led startups will receive knowledge in business, from product development and innovation, marketing and customer acquisition, funding and financial planning, to creating and implementing pilot projects through six one-on-one mentoring sessions within two months with experts and venture capital. At the final stage of this programme, participants will present their pilot projects and achievements through one-on-one session with individual investor. This provides an opportunity to secure funding for their startups.

Faye Wongso, Founder and Chairperson of KUMPUL.ID, stated, "InnovateHer Academy is a women’s empowerment program that emphasizes a solution-oriented approach to help female startup founders navigate and overcome challenges in the business industry, particularly in fintech and insurtech. Through training sessions with top mentors in their fields, we aim not only to strengthen business knowledge but also to bridge funding gaps, sharpen market penetration strategies, and build networks and ecosystems that support more sustainable businesses, ultimately contributing to improving financial inclusion.”

Dwi Yuliawati Faiz, Officer in Charge for Country Representative UN Women said, “InnovateHer Academy is a collaborative innovation for women’s empowerment that brings together partners from various sectors to support startups founded and led by women in their growth journey. Through this initiative, we aim to strengthen efforts to engage the private sector in transforming businesses to advance gender equality.”

Through the implementation of InnovateHer Academy 2.0, FWD Insurance hopes to increase opportunities for our Indonesian women, especially startup founders, to drive innovation and economic growth in Indonesia; and to help startups gain more attention and funding in the future. Not only through the InnovateHer initiative, FWD Insurance's support for women's empowerment is also reflected in the corporate declaration of support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles initiated by UN Women.

“FWD Insurance is proud to be part of this initiative, especially since our empowerment programs, particularly InnovateHer Academy, are inspired by the passion, resilience, and innovative spirit of women entrepreneurs in turning their dreams into reality.” Desy concluded.

FWD Insurance continues to provide innovative and digitally supported solutions that also includes empowering communities to celebrate living through one of core values at FWD - ‘Caring’, that guides FWD’s efforts in making positive impact across Asia.