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Focusing on training in the field of Trade Finance, RH Trade Academy has been hailed as a training centre for banking, government, and business professionals who wish to deepen their knowledge and skills in handling international transactions.
In a world that is more globalised than ever before, education concerning international banking and trade finance has never felt more urgent. Such reality is the driving fuel behind RH Trade Academy which aims to improve the competence and expertise of human resources in the Indonesian banking sector, especially in facing the complex challenges of international trade. In a conversation with Indonesia Expat on the 24th of October, Renie Harkim, the CEO and Founder of RH Trade Academy, shared her remarkable background as an international banker, what her institution has accomplished since its inception back in 2017, and her groundbreaking plans for the looming new year.
Hi Renie! Let’s get started by introducing yourself a bit. What can you tell us about yourself?
Well, I was born in Medan, North Sumatra, though I have now lived in Jakarta for 33 years. I grew up in a decent family of merchants. After finishing high school, I studied at the San Francisco State University in the United States for three years, majoring in business management information systems. I have also obtained an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability from the University of Cumbria in the United Kingdom. Establishing a career in finance, as I look back, was pretty much a coincidence at the time. When I was younger, I had no idea about the banking industry, but it was an industry that started experiencing growth at the time — including its international banking sector. Before I established RH Trade Academy, I was the Executive Director Financial Institutions Sales Head at JP Morgan Jakarta.
For our readers who might not necessarily be aware of this entity, what does RH Trade Academy exactly focus on?
RH Trade Academy develops training programmes based on business needs, with a strong focus on export. Simultaneously, we provide consulting services, such as structuring refinancing for export-import activities using trade products for corporate clients. Our approach integrates training and consulting to provide a comprehensive service. We use role-playing techniques in our training to ensure participants grasp concepts easily, and our case studies are always up-to-date.
Establishing your very own training academy, as well as a consultancy service, must be such a monumental decision for your already impressive career. Can you briefly tell us about the journey leading up to your decision to establish RH Trade Academy?
The idea came to me when I was invited to teach about the Indonesian banking industry at the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance in Taipei. As I observed how the knowledge regarding international banking, trade financing, bank-to-bank transactions, and export-import activities was still relatively scarce, I figured, “Why don’t I set up a training academy and a consultancy service to educate and empower them?” Long story short, RH Trade Academy officially kicked off in 2017.
I did my research as well. At least from what I’ve gathered, there are not many Indonesians who are experts in either trade finance or bank-to-bank transactions. Why do you think that is?
I believe it’s because those particular fields are still relatively niche markets in Indonesia. The banking industry, such as state-owned banks, large private banks, and foreign banks, typically have departments with the expertise and resources to handle international trade finance. Whenever a corporate business wants to do import or export transactions, they would talk to their bank for advice. International banks might be able to support them, but that is not necessarily the case when it comes to medium-sized or regional banks. For the middle segment, including Small and Medium Enterprises (Usaha Menengah Kecil dan Mikro or UMKM), a strong understanding of trade finance and adequate training in this area are crucial.Financial Training in Makassar
Very recently this year, RH Trade Academy provided training at BPD Makassar which is a local bank. Why do you think it is about time for banks such as BPD to also be knowledgeable about trade financing and bank-to-bank transactions?
Now that the world has opened up even more, there is a bigger opportunity for businesses, wherever they are based, to engage in exports. It should also be taken into consideration that, at least based on my observation, not many trainers or instructors in the banking industry focus on the international banking business. Take our training at BPD Makassar as an example. The reason why we were invited to provide training for its bankers was because the provincial governor of South Sulawesi (at the time) wanted to encourage more exports from the province, which meant that local banks like BPD Makassar had to step up their skills. On top of that, we deliberately used the local language during our training to make sure that the knowledge and information that we gave to those bankers were easy to comprehend as well. Now, they are equipped to process Letter-of-Credit (LC) transactions and there is growing enthusiasm for handling the export-related needs of their business clients.
Another impressive thing that I’ve noticed on your resume is the time when you guys worked with the Singaporean-owned Phillip Bank in Cambodia. What can you tell us about that experience?
It was back in 2023. Phillip Bank wanted us to train its team so that its branches could handle trade financing as well. In actuality, Cambodia and Indonesia have a close tie with each other. Either Indonesia imports from Cambodia or Indonesia exports to Cambodia. For example, the fruit salak is now being exported to Cambodia from Yogyakarta. I might return to Cambodia to conduct training again around next month.
Obviously, the majority of our readers are expatriates. How do you think RH Trade Academy can help cater to the needs of, particularly, the expatriates in Indonesia?
Let me put it this way. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs dispatches many young diplomats in different offices and different sectors, including the economic sector. At one time during the pandemic, a batch of young diplomats joined my Zoom training. Some Indonesian businessmen came to them and asked for their help to find buyers in the United States. The training that we gave to those young diplomats turned out to be such a helpful tool. We also guided them on how to conduct a case study for export and how to prepare a sales presentation pitch.
What can you tell us about your plans for 2025?
We are planning to launch our e-learning platform for all things related to trade financing next year. With this e-learning platform, we hope that we can reach more people who could use some help or knowledge for the sake of meeting their respective needs.
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