Author: Alfin Heriagus
Universitas Indonesia (UI) through the Directorate of Community Service and Empowerment (Direktorat Pengabdian dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat, DPPM) is directly involved in providing business assistance to ultra-micro business families affected by the pandemic in the DKI Jakarta area. This activity is in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia to support the Social Entrepreneurship Program. At the end of this year, UI helped map the business conditions of 301 KPM (Kelurga Penerima Manfaat, Beneficiary Families) and Family Hope Program spread across various areas of DKI, namely Tanah Abang (Kebon Melati Village, Karet), Kramat, Paseban, Galur, Tebet, Kebayoran Lama, Grogol, and Jagakarsa.
Team Leader, Dr. Rambat Lupiyoadi, a Lecturer from FEB UI, deployed 11 business mentors to visit and select 100 KPM who run home-based businesses and need business support.
They are from various businesses, including mobile beverage vendors, market snacks, coffee stalls, rice stalls, chicken porridge, jamu baskets, Cireng baskets, wood charcoal, electronic equipment workshops and the like. Among them are also people with disabilities. But they are family warriors who are trying to survive in the midst of this pandemic. Sayem is one of those who used to make and sell wood charcoal in Kebon Melati. When the mentor team visited her house, it was in poor condition and leaked when it rained. Sayem lives alone with her son after her husband’s death. During this pandemic, Sayem said that her business has been sluggish, as many of the satay and grilled chicken stalls she frequents have closed down.
A total of 100 beneficiary families were given entrepreneurship and business management training. In December 2021, training has been conducted in three locations, namely at the Kebon Melati urban village office, Galur urban village and finally on December 21, 2021 the Jagakarsa area at the IBIK Building (Kosgoro Institute of Business and Informatics), Lenteng Agung.
The provision of entrepreneurship training and mentoring is intended to continue to motivate participants to survive and rise to adapt to new business situations. The mentor team coordinated by Dr. Rifelly and Adi Waskito, M.M. (FEB UI lecturer) are business actors who have previously received business assistance from UI, including Heri Wijaya, a milkfish processing business and Muslimah, a cassava processing business who is also a housewife who is now preparing to export her cassava chips.
“The preparations that need to be made are strong intentions, monitoring available business opportunities, exploring potential within yourself, not waiting for perfection, and action. If we wait for perfection and then take action, this will not make us to ever start,” Muslimah emphasized during the training.
After undergoing training, the beneficiaries receive business assistance and business support needed for their business development in the form of business tools/equipment needed. “Together with their respective mentors, the KPMs determine their needs, whether in the form of production equipment, business promotion or others,” said Dr. Rambat. With the guidance of the mentors as well as ensuring that this assistance can be useful for other businesses.
