Johan Halim
IPMI International Business School
Amelia Naim Indrajaya
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Empowered, stands for Economic Empowerment for Entrepreneur with Disability is one of Corporate Social Responsibility event held by Allianz Indonesia. This is an advanced program to empower people, but inclusive to people with disabilities. From the background of corporate perspective, Allianz values equality, means that all of us are equal, regardless of our social background.
One Allianz’s local value is care. Care to the people. At the beginning, Allianz held a CSR event for people with non-disabilities. Therefore, as a real act of equality, this program, called Empowered, is inclusive for people with disabilities.
Second, apart from many activities related to people with disabilities, Allianz supports at Paralympic International. It means that everytime there are Olympiad for people with disabilities, Allianz presents as a supporting company. The last time was in the USA.
At the beginning, Allianz Indonesia created a program on financial management training for teenagers, and then upscale for adults to micro, home industry, and even fishermen. There is always an evaluation, to know whether there are any benefit for them. They are taught to design business fund and family fund, asset management, and how to avoid debt. They are also taught to make a simple budget (cash in and cash out), and even to choose financial products as an access.
As an advanced Corporate Social Responsibility related to financial industry about empowerment of other people with inclusivity for people with disabilities, Allianz Indonesia shows the real act to support equality between people with disabilities and non-disabilities. Now, with Empowered program, Allianz Indonesia supported people with disabilities, especially those who own micro business. The implication is quite similar with prior Corporate Social Responsibility event, the difference is on the target and the way Allianz Indonesia wants to deliver the program.
Furthermore, because of empowered program, Allianz Indonesia created a guide or tutorial book consisting of modules to be applied independently. This guide or tutorial book is multiplied and even distributed to many inland villages all over Indonesia.
Lastly, to spread the awareness about this empowered program, upon holding other event like Allianz running activity, Allianz Indonesia promoted empowered program to raise awareness about equality for people with disabilities.
The success of prior Corporate Social Responsibility activity for people with non-disabilities to enhance the prosperity is becoming one of the inspiration for Allianz Indonesia to hold empowered program. Furthermore, another success of prior Corporate Social Responsibility activity on educating teenagers and minor people on the importance of financial management.
As an advance step, Allianz Indonesia took an initiative to conduct a real act of equality between people with disabilities and non-disabilities. The participants consist of disable people (no hands or no legs), deaf, and blind people.
Because of Empowered program, Allianz Indonesia succeeded to increase people awareness for people and entrepreneur with disabilities. Hence, people with non-disabilities could realize the importance of equality between non-disabilities and disabilities people.
Furthermore, as a direct impact, people with disabilities are gaining new perspective and new knowledge about financial management. They also could be financially independent and obtain better equal opportunity to the society.
As the last impact, by multiplying the guide/ tutor books about empowered program and distributed it widely around Indonesia, people also could learn it autodidact and gaining new knowledge about financial management.
Allianz always commits to create relevancies between what is happening and Allianz should be there to support them. Allianz Indonesia becomes the only one Allianz country branches with the initiative to do it.
The objectives or Empowered program is social, but Allianz Indonesia is still including insurance knowledge within. In one of the module content, there is a socialization session to educate the importance of life insurance for life (family and business). Allianz Indonesia explained that if becoming a businessman, if someday something happened, he/ she should think how will his/ her family and business will be.
As a real act, Allianz Indonesia introduced a micro life insurance product called APC (Asuransi Produk Cinta/ Love Insurance Product). The name came from Financial Services Authority and Association of Indonesian Life Insurance. It is a simple product, if the insured is passed away because of sickness, the sum insured is Rp 5 million. If the insured is passed away because of accident, the sum insured is Rp 25 million. The premium money is only Rp 50 thousand p.a. without any medical checkup.
In the Empowered, Allianz Indonesia delivered this information about product features, so that if they understood the importance of life insurance, they could purchase, but not forcing, and Allianz Indonesia didn’t come as agents. It worked, many people purchased the product. Therefore, the core value, namely their awareness about life insurance is what all matters.
Because of Empowered program, Allianz Indonesia succeeded to educate minor and people with disabilities about financial management and the importance of life insurance. Furthermore, even after the leaving of Allianz Indonesia from the inland areas, people over there still eager to develop and apply what they have learned in order to gain better financial independence.
By enhancing the economic situation of them, if we take a look in macro perspective, there will also be an improvement in domestic economic condition in Indonesia. Therefore, if there are any other parties, not only Allianz Indonesia, who still eager to develop and continue this program, I believe that the economic condition in Indonesia will be better improved.
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Indra Yuliawan, Head of CSR Allianz Indonesia
