PT Ruma

PT Ruma, which translates to "Your Microbusiness Partner," was established in July 2009 as a social enterprise with a mission to alleviate poverty in Indonesia. The founders, Aldi Haryopratomo and Budiman Wikarsa, leveraged their MBA degrees and experience from prominent firms like McKinsey & Co. and Boston Consulting Group to create a sustainable business model aimed at empowering low-income communities. Haryopratomo's journey began with early work at Kiva.org, a non-profit enabling micro-lending, and time at the Boston Consulting Group, where he focused on agent banking models for bottom-of-the-pyramid consumers, experiences that directly shaped Ruma's direction.

The company operates in the financial technology and e-commerce sectors, targeting Indonesians living on less than $2.50 a day. Its initial business model centered on a "business in a box" microfranchise, providing agents with everything needed to sell mobile phone airtime and other digital services. This generated revenue through a share of the profits from these micro-entrepreneurs. A significant evolution in their service offering came in 2014 with the launch of the "Mapan Arisan" app. This product digitizes the traditional Indonesian rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) known as "arisan." Through the app, community leaders organize groups where members pool their savings to collectively purchase household goods like furniture, electronics, and cookware from a catalog, items they might not be able to afford individually. The app uses an algorithm to manage the rotation of who receives the goods each cycle.

This model proved successful, and the company, which became widely known by its product name Mapan, expanded its agent network significantly. In December 2017, PT Ruma was acquired by Gojek (then Go-Jek) to expand the reach of its GoPay digital wallet service into rural and unbanked populations. Following the acquisition, Haryopratomo took on the role of CEO at GoPay. Mapan continued to operate as an independent entity within the Gojek ecosystem, later expanding its offerings to include bill payments and consumer goods resale. In 2022, Mapan secured a Series A funding round of US$15 million to further enhance its Arisan service and expand its reach across Indonesia.

Keywords: PT Ruma, Mapan, financial technology, social enterprise, microfranchise, Arisan, rotating savings, community lending, financial inclusion, rural empowerment, digital payments, e-commerce, Aldi Haryopratomo, Gojek, GoPay, low-income communities, Indonesian fintech, micro-entrepreneurship, agent network, collective purchasing, financial services, poverty alleviation