PT Bank DBS Indonesia has introduced a Blended Finance program, allocating Rp24 billion (SGD 2 million) to support social enterprises.

The initiative combines grant funding from the DBS Foundation with non-collateral commercial loans. It aims to scale sustainable business models that create measurable social impact.

Adena Coffee, a social startup focused on coffee production through farmer empowerment, is the first recipient under this new financing structure.

Unlike the full-grant DBS Foundation Grant Program, Blended Finance offers a 50:50 funding model, half as a grant and half as a repayable commercial loan without collateral.

Adena Coffee to Train 500 Farmers and Develop Compliance Platform

Adena Coffee’s Founder and CEO, Abyatar, shared that the funding will be used to train 500 smallholder coffee farmers across Gayo, Flores, Bali, and West Java.

The company will also build a new production and training center, along with wet mill and fermentation facilities to improve the consistency and quality of harvests.

“In our experience, we’ve encountered several loan models. The non-collateral ones often have interest rates double that of banks. But this [Blended Finance] is very competitive, possibly even below conventional bank rates,” said Abyatar during the Blended Finance Signing Ceremony in Jakarta (24/6).

He added that the application process is strict while the loan is without collateral.

Part of the funding will also go toward developing a platform to meet the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

DBS Focuses on Impact-Driven, Financially Viable Enterprises

Angela Thenaria, Executive Director and Head of SME at the Institutional Banking Group, Bank DBS Indonesia, explained that the Blended Finance program is reserved for social enterprises with a proven track record.

“What differentiates Blended Finance from regular financing is that it supports social enterprises, recipients must have previously received the DBS Foundation Grant, and they must have been operating for more than two years with stable financials,” Angela stated.

Currently, Adena Coffee works with more than 2,000 coffee farmers across over 30 villages.

“To process more coffee means we can take in more produce from the farmers. Those are the three main goals we’re targeting together,” Abyatar said.

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG/NICKY LOH

This article was created with AI assistance.