Latest Winners
Evermos
Supporting Women's Independence through e-commerce
Evermos, an Indonesian social commerce platform, has been named winner of the third Nikkei Asia Award for its contribution to the economic independence of women in Indonesia.
The platform has created jobs for women such as those in rural cities without many employment opportunities by letting them become resellers of miscellaneous goods and food products.
Founded in Bandung, West Java, in 2018, Evermos offers food products, clothing items, sundry goods and other merchandize for daily consumption and use by Muslims, who account for nearly 90% of Indonesia's population.
Ilham Taufiq, Chief of Strategy (Left)
Arip Tirta, President (Center)
Iqbal Muslimin, Chief of Sustainability (Right)
The name Evermos is an amalgam of keywords from the company's tagline, "Everyday Needs For Every Moslem."
Evermos has an extensive lineup of sharia-compliant products, such as hajib head coverings for women and other clothing items as well as halal foodstuffs, supplied by more than 800 small and midsize Indonesian companies. Using the startup's logistics network, the suppliers can expand their sales territories wider than those obtained by their own marketing efforts.
Ilham Taufiq, Chief of Strategy (Left)
Arip Tirta, President (Center)
Iqbal Muslimin, Chief of Sustainability (Right)
Since its foundation, Evermos has maintained a target of supporting small and midsize retailers and manufacturers in Indonesia and pursued a mechanism to remove hurdles faced by them, according to co-founder and President Arip Tirta.
"There are some changes, and we need to reposition ourselves. But the vision of the company still remains the same as that we want to help SMEs (small and midsize enterprises) to grow. We want to help business owners to get the product to the end consumer faster, cheaper and more efficiently," he said.
Consumers do not directly place orders with Evermos. The sale of merchandize is done by more than 600,000 resellers registered on the platform. Using catalogues and other aids provided by Evermos, they advertise products to consumers via such means as social media.
Resellers send in orders from consumers in their neighborhood to Evermos through its platform by entering necessary information such as ordered products and customers' names and addresses. The products are directly delivered to the customers and resellers receive commissions when the whole process of transactions is completed. As resellers are free from stocking merchandize, anyone can readily start doing business if they have a smartphone.
Some 70% of registered resellers are women, many of whom reside in rural cities. To full-time housewives and many other women, Evermos provides their first-ever business experience. The company has grown together with resellers by helping them improve their sales, marketing and other skills.
Evermos has a training team that offers a variety of lessons to resellers, such as how to use its app and advertise merchandize via social media. There are more than 1,000 lessons per year, including those provided online.
The company also encourages resellers to form small communities and mutually improve their skills. Resellers who outperform others become community leaders and hold meetings with others nearby on a regular basis in order to share experiences and business know-how. There are more than 1,000 communities across Indonesia and women serve as leaders for a great majority of them.
Elementary school graduates account for around 40% of Indonesia's working population. Calls have long been voiced for the introduction of vocational training to teach know-how needed to find jobs or start new businesses. Evermos creates social values by proactively providing resellers with training and educational opportunities.
As in the case of many other emerging countries, Indonesia has made Jakarta comparable to developed nations' capital cities but left regional cities and rural villages behind economically. Outside the metropolitan area, job options are limited and women face a scarcity of opportunities to earn an income. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many households suffered because their breadwinners lost their jobs.
Through its business, Evermos has enabled women to earn an income and become economically independent. The International Financial Corp., a member of the World Bank Group, reported that resellers registered with Evermos earn an average $43 per month. High-performance sellers pull in up to $191 a month, it said.
Among excellent sellers are people who develop and produce products of their own brands, according to Arip. "They already know which products are moving," he said.
Evermos pays heed to "not only people who are good at selling products but also those who are willing to give back [what they earn] to their community," he said.
In May, Evermos closed a $40 million fresh funding round led by the IFC appreciating its social business that supports women's economic independence. It plans to utilize the funding to expand its network, currently centered on Java, in Sumatra. While considering a market advance into Malaysia, Evermos also plans to upgrade the development of artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Evermos aims to increase the number of registered resellers to 1 million in three to five years' time, Arip said. An increase in resellers will contribute to the growth of small and midsize companies that supply merchandize to Evermos. The startup's challenge to promote its business and address social problems at the same time will continue.
4th Winner
2024
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Remarks from the Chairman of the Advisory Board
Job Opportunities for 600,000 Poor Households
Fujio Mitarai
Chairman & CEO / Canon Inc.
Evermos of Indonesia was selected as the winner of the 3rd Nikkei Asia Award from among 244 nominations received from countries and regions throughout Asia. Evermos is a startup that supports women in rural areas through an e-commerce platform.
Normally, it takes about 1,000USD to start a retail business in rural Indonesia. Evermos' business model requires no funding and provides individuals with training opportunities to open their own businesses free of charge.
This has enabled many families, mainly housewives, in rural Indonesia who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 disaster to find new employment and support their families. E-commerce platforms themselves have been spreading to a certain extent in the Asian region, and there are many startups offering similar services.
However, the noteworthy points of Evermos is that it has brought jobs to many rural and households in poverty and people who have not had the opportunity to hone their business skills. The number of people supported by Evermos has expanded to more than 600,000, many of whom are women, which gives the company's activities certain social significance.
Evamos itself supports its business base by manufacturing and selling daily necessities for Indonesian citizens, such as holy water and clothing. The company is also considering expansion into Malaysia, and solid and sustainable growth is expected. A virtuous cycle is likely to emerge in which the number of people with new jobs will further increase beyond national borders.
This is the third time for the Nikkei Asia Award, and the winners are a unique lineup, including the shrimp cultured meat venture Shiok Meats in the first award, Saathi, a start-up company involved in the planning, manufacture, and sale of sanitary products in the second award, and Evermos in the current award. The countries where the award-winning organizations are based have also expanded to Singapore, India, and Indonesia.
The Advisory Board of the Nikkei Asia Award, consisting of experts from Asia, is also diverse, with members from India, Thailand, Singapore, and other countries in addition to Japan. It is a unique pleasure for us to be able to support rising stars in Asia who are selected based on active discussions.