image source: https://www.gatesnotes.com

Back in October 2018, Melinda Gates visited Indonesia as part of her work as Co-Chair of the Pathways for rosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development, where Nadiem Makarim also sits as commissioner. Alongside attending the IMF World Bank Meetings, Gates toured toured GO-JEK’s operations in Bali, meeting driver partners, merchants and talents in an effort to understand the potential that digital technology has to improve livelihoods and build more inclusive economies.

Melinda Gates with GO-JEK’s partner and talent in Bali, Indonesia. Photo copyright © Gates Archive.

Bill & Melinda Gates mentiones GOJEK as 1 out of the 9 things that was a pleasant surprise in their 2018 journey.

GOJEK Women Driver Partners

Bill & Melinda Gates would document their journeys on the Gates Notes website, and their Annual Letters has always been the anticipated oasis of inspiring news in the mist of overwhelming negative headlines. We are overjoyed and humbled to have been mentioned in Gates 2019 Annual Letter, as one of the things that inspired Bill and Melinda Gates to continue their efforts in creating social impact - a shared value at the core of every GOJEK's endeavour.

In the letter, they shared how they found it inspiring that mobile phones can truly give women the power to build an entirely new life. Through leveraging technology, GOJEK has made this possible for Nikmah, one of GO-LIFE’s talents who now make a living through GOJEK. She ran from an abusive marriage and fled to Bali to restart her life with her three children, bringing nothing but the clothes they were wearing. She initially tried her luck selling vegetables at a local market, where she overheard GOJEK drivers’ conversation about then new service called GO-MASSAGE. After joining GO-MASSAGE, not only can she provide for her three children, she now has taken mortgage for a house in Tabanan village, 2 hours from Denpassar, and even form a network with other women to pool their savings to support each other.

The 2019 Gates Annual Letter is a positive introduction to the global community, on how technology can be leveraged to empower women, and allow them to build an entirely new life through the smartphones they hold in their own hands. We hope to maintain this upward momentum with quality work at GOJEK, and may this message serve as motivation for us to continuously innovate with social impact at heart.

“We get asked a lot these days whether we're still optimistic about the future. We say: Absolutely. One reason is that we believe in the power of innovation. But an even bigger reason is that we've seen firsthand that for every challenge we've written about in this letter, there are people devoting their ideas, their resources, and even their lives to solving them”. -Bill & Melinda Gates