JAKARTA – The Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Mendes PDT), Yandri Susanto, received an audience with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of New Hope Financial Technology (FinTech), Xu Zhihua, alongside his delegation at the Kemendes PDT Office, Jakarta, on Monday (August 10, 2026).

During the meeting, both parties agreed to collaborate and enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding financing access and mentoring for Indonesian villages through Village-Owned Enterprises (BUM Desa).

CEO of New Hope Fintech Xu Zhihua expressed his firm commitment to developing rural potential across Indonesia, particularly within the agriculture, livestock, aquaculture, and horticulture sectors. Additionally, his firm is committed to expanding credit and financing channels for Indonesian villages.

According to him, Indonesia serves as a key strategic partner with immense development potential, drawing parallels to rural transformations in China. He noted that many Chinese villages receiving financing access from New Hope have successfully modernized by adopting advanced technology and leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Therefore, New Hope Fintech proposed replicating and executing these proven models across Indonesian villages, tailored to their respective local capabilities to accelerate rural growth.

"We extend our sincere gratitude to Minister Yandri Susanto for the warm reception in Indonesia. We share a unified vision to advance villages and disadvantaged regions while developing local potential across agriculture, livestock, aquaculture, and horticulture so that rural areas can gain access to financing," Xu Zhihua stated.

During the same occasion, Minister Yandri welcomed New Hope Fintech’s commitment. His ministry stands ready to cooperate and sign an MoU with the fintech company to ensure BUM Desa units gain direct access to capital financing.

As economic institutions operating at the village level, Minister Yandri noted, BUM Desa units have successfully maximized local potential—acting as exporters and managing operations across livestock, aquaculture, horticulture, tourism, and other sectors. Thus, access to capital financing will enable BUM Desa units to scale production and generate revenue for their communities.

Furthermore, Minister Yandri invited New Hope Fintech to establish an initial pilot project covering 500 to 1,000 villages in Indonesia based on their existing economic strengths—including livestock training centers, aquaculture, horticulture, and eco-tourism.

"The presentation was exceptional, and we fully comprehend New Hope's operational concept. Now it comes down to execution—the sooner, the better. Moving forward from this meeting, we will finalize the MoU, then identify 500 to 1,000 highly prospective BUM Desa units to receive financing from New Hope," Minister Yandri stated.

"Many BUM Desa units are already exporting commodities like fish, coffee, and more. Others are strengthening domestic supply through specialized thematic villages, such as layer hen villages, freshwater fisheries, chili-growing villages, and many others. Under the pilot project, we can allocate specific quotas for layer hen villages, tourism villages, horticulture villages, and export villages. We will select those with high potential first so New Hope can expand its footprint," Minister Yandri added.

If the pilot project proves successful, Minister Yandri hopes that financing access can be expanded to cover up to 10,000 villages across Indonesia. Villages that succeed under the pilot initiative will serve as national benchmarks to be replicated in other regions with similar resource profiles.

Accompanying Minister Yandri at the meeting were Secretary-General of Kemendes PDT Taufik Madjid, Director General of Economic Development and Investment (PEID) Tabrani, Director General for Village Development (PDP) Nugroho Setijo Nagoro, Head of the Information Development Agency (BPI) Mulyadin Malik, alongside Special Staff to the Minister Fahad At-Tamimi and Muhammad Khoirul Huda.

Foto: Didi/Kemendes PDT 
Teks: Rifqi/Kemendes PDT