INDUSTRY.co.id - Jayapura – In the midst of increasing community needs for financial services that are easily accessible, the existence of BRILink Agent is one of the solutions to bring banking services closer to various regions, while opening business opportunities and employment for the surrounding community.
One of his success stories came from Darwin Chandra, a local entrepreneur in Jayapura who managed to develop his simple kiosk into a BRILink Agen network that is reliable and close to the needs of community transactions.
He said, more than a decade ago, he started his business from a small kiosk called Hari-Dari which was established on February 14, 2011 in the Abepura district, Jayapura City, Papua Province, Indonesia. At that time, the kiosks he managed only sold various basic necessities with a limited number and types of goods.
"At that time, kiosks only sold daily necessities with a limited number of items. The most important thing for me is how this business can continue to run and provide benefits to the surrounding community," said Darwin.
With a modest business capital, Darwin ran his business gradually while building customer trust in the surrounding environment. For him, maintaining good relations with customers is the main capital to develop the business.
Over time, Darwin saw the tendency for the demand for people's needs to continue to grow. Customers who come to the kiosk no longer only need basic necessities, but also need easy access to financial services without having to travel long distances to the bank office.
Finally, the opportunity came in 2017, when BRI offered cooperation to his kiosk to become BRILink Agent. Darwin saw the opportunity as a step to develop the business, while helping the community obtain banking services that were closer, faster, and easily accessible.
Without hesitation, he decided to join as a BRILink Agent and began serving various financial transactions, ranging from cash withdrawals, transfers, bill payments, to various other banking transaction needs.
The decision became a turning point in his business journey. In just three months since becoming a BRILink Agent, Darwin managed to reach the transaction target in the Reward Program organized by BRI and received a smartphone award. Similar achievements were again achieved in the next period and further motivated him to continue to develop his business.
"The award was an encouragement for me. Moreover, many people need transaction services that are fast, close, and easy to reach. From there, I was more and more convinced to start expanding the service network," he said.
As a result, entering 2023, Darwin developed his business more aggressively. In the last two years, the business started from a simple kiosk developed into five BRILink Agen service points spread across a number of locations, such as Abepura, Kotaraja and Waena.
But Darwin did not stop at the addition of service points. He also presented innovations in the form of two mobile service units using cars. According to him, the idea was inspired by the concept of ball pick-up service that he had seen in Java.
"The idea of this mobile service was inspired by the concept of ball pick-up that I saw in Java. I designed the car myself and placed it around the Cenderawasih University area and several other strategic points so that students and the public can carry out various financial transactions more easily," he explained.
The presence of these mobile services received a positive response from the community. Darwin's hard work and consistency in providing the best service finally paid off. Consecutively in 2024 and 2025, he won the Umrah award from BRI after being ranked seventh nationally as well as being the best BRILink Agent in Papua based on achieving transaction targets.
This achievement was again achieved in 2025, marking the continuous growth of the business and increasingly trusted by the community.
"I am grateful for this achievement. But the most important thing is how the business we run can continue to provide benefits, help people transact easily, and open economic opportunities for the surrounding environment. Currently, we serve around 400 to 500 transactions every day, even some service points operate for 24 hours," he said.
Behind the growth of his business. BRILink Darwin's managed agency is not only a place for financial transactions, but also opens employment opportunities for local residents. It is known that, at present, Darwin employs 15 employees spread across various service points. Interestingly, about 70% of the total workers are Orang Asli Papua (OAP), as a form of their commitment to empower the local community.
On a separate occasion, Micro BRI Director Akhmad Purwakajaya said that BRILink Agent not only acts as an extension of banking services, but is also able to encourage the economic growth of the community.
"Through the spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation, and closeness to the community, BRILink Agent also supports equitable access to financial services while opening business opportunities and employment in various regions," he said.
As is known, as of March 2026, the number of BRILink Agents has penetrated 1.18 million and reached more than 80% of villages in Indonesia or around 66,450 villages. For BRI, the achievement confirms BRILink Agen's position as the backbone of partnership-based financial services at the village level. In addition, the presence of BRILink can further expand public access to banking transactions.
