Empower Women with Sustainable Livelihood

On 21 Ocober 2025, Yayasan INFEST organized a Regular Business Meeting in Blitar as part of the Economic Empowerment and Strengthening Migrant Workers' Access to Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration Services project funded by AWO International. The activity focused on strengthening the financial management and reporting capacity of KOPI (Komunitas Pekerja Migran), a community-based organization formed by migrant workers and migrant families.

The meeting brought together 32 participants (19 men and 13 women) representing KOPI communities in Blitar. The session was facilitated by Edi Purwanto and designed as a practical learning space that combined manual financial recording with the introduction of basic digital documentation tools to support transparency and accountability.

During the meeting, participants learned how to manually record income and expenditures using simple financial formats suitable for community-based enterprises. To strengthen organizational administration, each KOPI group was provided with a dedicated organizational email account, and participants were guided on how to access and manage it collectively. 

The facilitator then introduced Google Drive as a shared digital storage platform for financial reports and organizational documents. Participants received step-by-step guidance on understanding key features of Google Drive, creating folders, uploading files, and typing documents directly in the platform. As a hands-on exercise, each KOPI group prepared a financial report based on their respective community's income and expenses, which was then uploaded to a shared Drive folder.

This process enabled participants to immediately view the uploaded reports, read each other's work, and provide feedback, encouraging peer learning, transparency, and collective responsibility. Many participants expressed increased confidence in managing basic financial records and using digital tools for organizational purposes. 

The activity also highlighted several challenges. Most participants were unfamiliar with Google Drive and required detailed explanations and repeated practice. In addition, not all participants were accustomed to using laptops or maintaining written financial records, indicating the need for continued mentoring and gradual capacity strengthening. 

As a follow-up, INFEST will continue to support KOPI communities through ongoing mentoring and regular practice, particularly in preparing and uploading monthly financial reports to Google Drive. This process is expected to strengthen financial governance, improve digital literacy, and enhance accountability within migrant worker–led community organizations in Blitar.

 Overall, the Regular Business Meeting was considered highly useful by participants and marked a significant step toward establishing sustainable and transparent financial management practices within KOPI communities.