Access to quality education is the biggest obstacle to the development of Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous nation. Only 18 percent of Indonesian high school students receive any form of higher education, compared with 28 percent in the Philippines, 43 percent in Thailand and 91 percent in South Korea, according to UNESCO. Worse still, only 3.5 percent of high school students from the nation’s lowest economic quintile receive any form of higher education, according to the Indonesian Statistics Bureau. These numbers highlight the educational challenges Indonesia faces in its development efforts.

Established by the Putera Sampoerna Foundation, Koperasi Siswa Bangsa is a non-profit, student-owned cooperative that provides a comprehensive support system, including financial assistance, to the most academically gifted of Indonesia’s most disadvantaged students to help them attain superior high school and university educations. Membership is based on such criteria as academic performance, family income, capacity for leadership and dedication to community. In early 2010, Koperasi Siswa Bangsa introduced Dana Siswa Bangsa, the first long-term student financing solution in Indonesia. Dana Siswa Bangsa changed the paradigm of access to education for the disadvantaged by fully funding the education of 167 students in the Sampoerna School of Education and Sampoerna School of Business.

In 2011, Siswa Bangsa is expanding the program to help qualified Indonesians access higher education around the world. Siswa Bangsa has established a strategic partnership with ACCESS Education Beyond, a new international higher education exchange program that supports Indonesian students and parents in identifying, preparing for and successfully enrolling in international universities.