ADM+S PhD Student undertakes fieldwork on fintech services in Indonesia
Author
Date 6 March 2025
ADM+S PhD Student Oliver Knight from RMIT University recently returned from a fieldwork trip in Indonesia, conducting focus groups and surveys to inform his thesis on ‘Lesser Sunda, More Defaults? P2P Lending in East Indonesia’.
The objective of the trip was to investigate claims of digital financial inclusion by studying access to fintech and online credit strategies in Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT provinces), through qualitative focus groups and surveys.
The trip begun with a presentation at Kantor Desa in Lingsar Indonesia, where Oliver gave an overview of his research topic and plans to the village leaders, and conducted focus groups with participants.
During the subsequent three-week trip, Oliver hosted focus groups in West, Central, and East Lombok regions, as well as conducting surveys with participants at two Universities in Kota Mataram.
“This field trip allowed me to deepen my connection with the areas of Indonesia that are relevant to my research by creating relationships with local FinTech users, industry, and academics,” said Oliver.
“It also provided the opportunity to develop critical contextual understanding of the important socio-cultural and community dynamics at play.”
This primary data collection across two regions will inform Oliver’s thesis and was strategically timed so that the analysis could be presented at his second milestone review in March.
While in Indonesia, Oliver worked closely with Reza Arviciena Sakti, Abdul Basit and Dr Vegalyra Novantini Samodra from the Universitas Islam Al-Azhar (Unizar), who assisted with recruitment, data analysis, and translation during his stay.
“The staff and broader community at Universitas Islam Al-Azhar have always been so welcoming, and share a deep passion and excitement for my research, which I find so motivating,” he said.
“On a personal level, the opportunity to develop my public speaking skills, Indonesian language, and the way I frame my research, will help me tremendously as I continue my career in research.”
When asked about a highlight of his trip, Oliver declared the many “aha!” moments he experienced during the data collection and analysis process.
“Each of these moments felt like finding a jigsaw piece that fits into my research puzzle/problem and show how valuable the fieldwork has been.”
This fieldtrip was supported by ADM+S.
