Tag: women spotlight

Crystal Widjaja: GO-JEK SVP Business Intelligence

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Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Crystal Widjaja and I work at GO-JEK Indonesia. I am purely a data person; what that means is I’m constantly look at trends, metrics, KPIs, and creating new KPIs so that the business can grow and evolve in its strategy and decision-making process.

What inspired you onto this data science path in the first place?

A lot of people would look at my history and say, “Hey that’s not very data science. That’s not very ‘data’ at all.” I actually graduated in political science – in empirical methods – but secretly I’ve always been very data-driven. The reason why I majored in political science was because I wanted to do polling statistics: understanding the correlations between different types of demographics, how they vote, and how, say, a three-party system creates different results from a  two party system. These are the kinds of things I was really interested in from the data side.

There’s a lot of manual data collection in political science, and in research in general. Learning how to optimize and create good data structures was just a natural evolution. And from there – given that I’m a lazy person sometimes – I learned how to write code, like Python, and SQL. That just leverages your potential so much more, right? A lot of that has been very useful to push me into data science and business intelligence.

What got you to take the initiative to write code? How do you recommend a beginner start learning?

For me, it was actually working on annoying manual problems that led me to start learning VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) on Microsoft Excel. From there, I figured that if I could tie together Python into VBA, I could be even more productive. A lot of GO-JEK is the same way in that we are very iterative. We’ll ask ourselves, “What’s the easiest thing that’ll 10x us?” and once that 10x is done, we’ll go back and ask “What’s the next thing that’ll 100x us?” So that iterative thought process of, “Okay, how do I do 80% of the work or get 80% of those gains right now?” is in our company culture and fits me very well.

What did you use to learn those programs?

I’m actually very good at Googling – I think that’s an underrated skill. (laughs) But actually there are quite a few resources on W3Schools for SQL, for example. Udemy and Coursera have great R programs. All of these free resources can actually get you about 90% of the way. That other 10% of mastery is really finding a challenging problem that you can work on and practice with.

And what was an early challenge that propelled you forward?

One of the things I was working on at the time was research on different startups. I wanted to see what people were saying about startups. I had a list of startups that I had captured from Crunchbase, and I wanted to generate the most recent news article about each one. So if I were to go into Google and press search, using time as a parameter, how could I automatically get that first result? So I actually did that on Excel VBA with a Python script as well.

Pivoting towards more startup questions, what are some key differences you found between US startups and Indonesian startups?

I think what I have seen is that people here are much more passionate and much more interested to learn. There’s a lot of active learning that happens in Indonesia, especially at GO-JEK. Here, we encourage people to seek out problems and solutions themselves, rather than waiting for someone to teach them and waiting for someone to train them directly. It’s a lot more of, “Hey, there are these problems that no one has ever worked on before. Are you interested in picking these up as challenges that you want to prove yourself with and identify best practices on your own?”

In the US, I’ve found that there’s a lot more passive learning where the best practices are all around you. You raise your hand and there’s a mentor right there next to you. That passive learning, while great (you do learn a lot), doesn’t push you as far. The challenge in Indonesia and the challenge for startups in general is that we have to pave our path by ourselves. It’s very new.

And that’s why this younger generation of students really excite me. I absolutely love having recent grads join us; they are the pioneers that don’t realize how hard it is to do something, so they will work the hardest to accomplish these things.

How do you see Indonesia and its nascent startup scene versus Silicon Valley? What kind of potential do you see? What do you find similar?

That’s a really great question. From what I see in Silicon Valley, a lot of the really meaningful things have already been done. What’s being created there are like assisted living apps for millenials. That’s not really inspiring; it’s not really impactful.

What I see here in Indonesia are people really working to solve hard, fundamental problems that improve the lives of people around them across all levels. There is that expectation that Indonesia will become that next tech hub. I think we have a lot ot live up to, but I do see there are a lot of new organizations, new startups — there’s so many meetup events that are extremely inclusive. The ones I had attended in Silicon Valley were actually less inclusive because they had that senior mentality, whereas here it seems like everyone is so willing to pull each other up that ladder rung. I actually think we will do much better because of that inclusivity and that diversity of people.

What are some obstacles you see?

Traffic, for one – like how do you get all these people to a meetup and start at the right time? That’s actually a literal and logistical fundamental challenge. Even we at GO-JEK face this. For instance, at AI Saturdays we start at either 10:00AM or 10:30AM; it really just depends on whether or not it’s raining. Hopefully as we develop that infrastructure and increase that ability to connect each other, we’ll actually enable other people to meet up more frequently and be more dependable.

A huge obstacle in the tech scene here is that it’s quite difficult to source developers for startups. How do we make Indonesia a more attractive place for quantitative talent in fields such as data science and technology, and how do we attract girls into that field?

I think there are a lot of junior developers, and so the question is: how do we create a mentorship system so that we continuously refine and polish the existing skillsets of the people here? I know there are a lot of beginner meetups and beginner events, but seeing more experts put together a more polished curriculum, that’d be interesting. I know Hacktivate is great and there are a couple of other coding schools that are developing these best practices. I think in time this will happen, it’s just that we started a bit later than Silicon Valley. But we will actually, I think, surpass them.

Yes, there aren’t that many female developers. I think that this partially has to do with the expectations that young women have as they’re growing up. They currently see a lot of male developers. There aren’t a lot of good examples of females in tech for them. I personally would like to spend a bit more time ensuring that female developers are paid attention to, are given that exposure. All female developers have this responsibility to just be present, to just stand out there. And being present inspires that younger generation. Although you may not see that impact for several years, you need to influence that generation to see that this is actually something that they can do.

Have you faced any unique challenges as a female in data science?

I work mostly in business intelligence, but I do sit with the data science teams as well. I’m actually blessed that GO-JEK has such an innovative and inclusive culture. Our company is so diverse that I’ve never felt prejudiced, actually. And that’s what makes GO-JEK great. Our attitude is about inclusivity and solving difficult problems. And that diversity of thought across gender, ethnicities, and backgrounds actually allows us to come up with more innovative solutions than other people normally would. I love the fact that we are a very distributed and culturally dispersed team because I’ve heard interesting insights that I never would have without that diversity.

How would you recommend people deal with those workplace situations if they do face that?

What I can talk about is what has been really successful at GO-JEK. For us we are very open. We have leaders who actually push feedback sessions. They actively tell us, “Hey, make sure you take an hour of your time every week with your team to do brown envelope sessions. Write feedback.” One of our 10 values is actually that criticism is a gift. Being able to give helpful feedback and tell people, “Hey that isn’t something we really value in our culture,” or, “Hey, that tone you took wasn’t really correct” — that kind of openness allows us to communicate very openly and fix any problems we might have. A lot of these situations perhaps could be handled with more transparency or with better policies in place, and I think GO-JEK has a very safe structure. You could tell people things and know they will receive feedback well.  

And for those whose companies don’t necessarily share GO-JEK’s culture?

It’s difficult for me to say that there is any universal solution, but I would say that progress has to start with yourself. Be the progress you want to see. If I see injustice, I will actually call it out. That is personally important to me. Ask yourself, “What are your virtues, what are your values,” and act on them on a daily basis. We can’t expect other people to take responsibility for the injustices we see; if you see a problem and you have the power to make a difference, then why not go and make that difference?

And I see around the world, a lot of people are picking up on that sentiment. There’s a lot of women’s marches — in Jakarta, for instance —

Yes! And it all starts from one person, right?

Yes! And so how can we keep the momentum going?

Communities are one of the most important things that I think really sets Indonesia apart from other places. The amount of community here already allows us that freedom. If someone in your community is hurting, your community here is usually small enough and know each other well enough to all stand up and fight for you as well. I would say, build a community, rally together for social causes, and ensure that people communicate well. That is probably the best way.

What do you think is the source of the gaps that exist in terms of resources and support for women entrepreneurs in Indonesia? What can be done to address them?

Interesting. I think a lot of these gaps stem from inherent bias. When people grow up seeing that all of their leaders are male, they internalize this and assume this to be the right approach to take. So they promote more men, they raise more funds for men.

For this, I appreciate that there are actual foundations that recognize the need to reverse that discrimination with women. FemaleDev is a great example of this. But beyond that, what can we do? It’s more about creating better systems for performance evaluations, right? Understanding that what a person does should be reflected in their performance reviews, rather than their gender or appearance. I think even Google does anonymous review cycles as well.

It’s a tough question, and a systematic problem. Purely I think a lot of what we can do is for that younger generation, so that when they grow up they don’t have those inherent biases as well.

What is one message you’d like to give to girls and women who are aspiring to be the next Crystal, the next GO-JEK SVP, or president even?

Aw, I’d be honored. I would tell them that they shouldn’t let anyone tell them they can’t do that, or that it’s not a role for women. Even I heard that as a kid. I had wanted to play the drums once, and some boy told me, “That’s not for girls.” I actually let that stop me. So I would say, don’t let anyone stop you. If you have a belief or a passion for something, the internet is there. You don’t need a teacher in front of you; you can learn almost anything on the internet. If you have a passion, if you have a dream, it’s actually your own discipline and motivation that’s stopping you. So why let that stop you?

If you could create any app that you wanted, what would that be?

To be honest, I would probably make a GO-DONATION service. Matching people who need help with donors. Now that we have GO-PAY, you could just donate directly. You could see – you know, this is the person’s social cause or financial cause that they’re working for. It could even display options like, “This is a place that needs two hours of volunteer services and this is where to sign up.”

 

Sunarni Widyastuti of Repong Indonesia

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Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Sunarni Widyastuti. I am from Repong Indonesia, a social enterprise that provides environmental services for tourism within the state forest area in Lampung, as well as agro-tourism outside of the forest area. Our aim is to assist the forest farmers in the area, to be less dependent on forest resources, and thus to prevent further destruction to the forestlands. By finding alternative sources of income for local people and their economy, we are able to maintain the sustainability of the forest, protect its biodiversity, and increase the animal population. For example, we help locals manufacture products made from non-wood materials such as honey, handicrafts from bamboo, etc.

We want to enhance environmental awareness as well as nurture the ecosystem balance and sustainability of the lives of the people surrounding the region through business. Business is one of the keys to ensuring environmental preservation – that the environment is continually maintained. We hope to increase the population of wild animals and maintain harmony within the community. That is our hope.

What motivated you to work for this enterprise?

First, because we have a vision to maintain the balance of the forest ecosystem and prevent it from being exploited. Secondly, in doing so, the local community needs to find new ways of earning a living. Thus by using a tour permit, people are able to sell forest resources legally while contributing to the local economy. Previously, much of the forest area was deemed illegal for extracting resources whereas now farmers can benefit from the forests and maintain a livelihood. Our priority is within the state forest region as well as outside this area.

We also strive to protect the animal population. At the moment, we have a conservation program for animals prone to extinction such as the rhinoceros as well as a variety of bird species. Visitors are also invited to plant trees together to promote forest regrowth from forest fires. We are also experiencing human conflicts with elephants within the forest. In order to be a sustainable business, we have to make sure that people are not dependent on the forest, and that the animals are also not disturbed.

What particular challenges have you faced thus far?

At the moment, we are having difficulties with sustaining our projects financially over a longer period of time. We try to fundraise, however, and have received a considerable amount of local government grants and village funds. However this is still not yet optimal, so the role of our NGO is to provide intensive assistance to the local community in the case that the government has not been able to meet our financial demands.

How do you go about overcoming these obstacles?

 

Generally, we rely on the sharing of community resources and mutual cooperation. For example, we reach out to local governments and districts when we are urgently short on funding. After that, we look to NGOs such as WWF and WCS. And if there are still shortcomings, we look for more donors until we fulfil our needs. Indeed, it is not sustainable, so it is our role as an NGO to network and attend forums on entrepreneurship for example, to improve our business. Either way it is not easy, but urgent matters can always be overcome. We have had 20 years of experience in this field, and the community has been able to handle business independently.

What can we do to help this cause?

The development of our enterprise is something we need to prioritize at the moment. Particularly in terms of the sustainability and scalability of it. Both of these aspects are important as our business does in fact need diversification so that it can become attractive to buyers and investors. Because of the nature of services, there needs to be some sort of business diversification which is why we offer some tour packages. So the packages may have things to diversify. Secondly, sustainable practices needs to be implemented to ensure our the preservation of the forest and our future.

 

Siti Fuadilla Alchumaira: Co-Founder of Empowomen

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Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Siti Fuadilla Alchumaira. I am the co-founder of a women’s community initiative in Lampung called Empowomen. It is a forum which aims to develop the potential of young women in Lampung and increase women’s leadership and participation in society. We select women to participate in a four-month program involving activities that focus on capacity building, project management and team building, with a final stage of implementing a social project that targets local women as beneficiaries. Our hope is that our female participants can develop these skills to use for their careers and become leaders who can mobilize the community to solve existing social problems within our society.

What inspired you to build this initiative?

First, I’ll give some context about the gender dynamics in Lampung. Currently, there are only 4 women leaders out of 40 community leaders in Lampung, while only 23% of parliament is represented by women. For these reasons, as well as the high rates of violence against women in Lampung, we decided to invest in women. If we can raise the standard of women leaders within the community, then the awareness and sensitivity to solve issues related to women will inevitably increase.

What sorts of issues do women currently face in Lampung?

In Lampung itself, there is still limited support and access to general information about the options that women have. We are not just talking about women’s access to information or developments in Jakarta or Java, as we are still quite far away from that reality. Here, women’s aspirations are still limited to domestic roles which is a mindset we want to change. We strive to raise awareness and lead by example to inspire women to do anything they can with their skills and abilities. We are not limited by our gender and should be able to build a career in whatever field we choose.

What sorts of challenges have you faced so far?

Until now, we still rely on grants and have not been focused on monetising our project as we are currently focused on raising awareness and capacity building. We are still unsure about the kinds of products or services that we can develop to monetize and thus support the sustainability of Empowomen. These are the strategies we need to work on moving forward.

How do you stay motivated despite facing difficulties?

We are grateful that accessibility is increasing and we are becoming more aware about the importance of funding in supporting the sustainability of our project. Perhaps one thing that keeps us going is the fact that we are certain about the ‘why’. Why are we doing this? Because we believe in the benefits of our project, and feel continuously encouraged and humbled by the mentorship we have received thus far, which has allowed us to increase our own capacity. The main thing is to keep learning, keep trying, and if it fails, just try again.

What can we do to help as a society?

Naturally, most of our team is female, but we also recognize the important role of men in achieving our vision. One of our values ​​is inclusiveness, and so both men and women are invited to support our initiative and the societal issues that affect women more generally.

 

Kartini Igirisa: Founder of UD Kartini Cakalang

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Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Kartini Igirisa. I am the founder of UD Kartini Cakalang. I started my business in 2008, producing processed fish products such as a variety of sambal (chili sauce).

What was your background previously and how did you come to establishing your own business?

At that time, in 2010, I was going through family problems. I split from my husband and the household, so needed to start earning an income. I have been running my business as a single parent up until now. When I started, we only had one product which was abon cakalang (fish floss). Now there are approximately 7 products, including sambal tuna, sambal teri and various other sambal varieties.

So far, what sorts of challenges do you face in managing your business?

There are competitors who sell their products below the market rate which is worrying for me. We aim to ensure that the quality of our products is not compromised, which means that the price is is raised accordingly. Naturally, when new players enter the market, they automatically look for price competitiveness. All our processing is still done manually.

How do you fundraise?

Until now, I’ve relied on bank loans entirely as the interest rates are very low. However, I only borrow as much as I need.

Can you share any of your experiences as a women entrepreneur?

Firstly, the opportunities are definitely limited living outside of the city. Not having a spouse makes things a bit harder as a single parent, but that’s okay. It does not limit my career. I am still confident, and continue to keep trying because I have to make a living and provide for my children.

I employ 3 women who work on processing, who are all single parents. My vision is to empower women within my community who need an income. Looking for work these day is also difficult, as many employers requires a minimum, level of schooling. So for people who do not have an education, it’s hard to provide daily food for the family. By hiring these people we are helping them achieve financial stability. I am particularly passionate in helping them because I know how hard it is being a single parent.

Why is the issue of women’s empowerment important to you?

I think women should have their own financial freedom, and be able to produce something that can earn themselves an income. I try to promote positive thinking for my female friends who are hoping to open their own business.

In the long term, what do you hope for your business?

I hope that my products can reach the wider domestic Indonesian market, and be in shops all over the archipelago. The goal is to one day have my own factory in Manado.

 

Lientje H.K. Mamahit: Founder of UD Makaarwen

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Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am Lientje H.K. Mamahit and I am the owner of Eufraino. We produce a variety of plant products that are processed to be used as traditional medicine for health. I am also coincidentally the Chairwoman of the Association of Traditional Medicine in North Sulawesi. Our products come in the form of instant powdered drinks made from ginger, temu lawak, and turmeric, which are considered natural herbal remedies. We combine these ingredients with fruits and vegetables such as mangosteen, soursop, and carrot, among others to enhance the flavors. My latest product is a 3-in-1 variety consisting of mangosteen combined temu lawak and ginger, which I recommend for people who work a lot, people who tend to eat an oily, fatty diet, and for detoxing in general. The reason why I made these into instant powder was because it turns out that after multiple test trials, that these fruits and vegetables produce higher levels of vitamins when dried and grounded.

What motivated you to start your business?

In the 1990s, I was working as a pastor at a hospital in North Sulawesi when I suddenly became sick. The doctors gave me a drug injection, after which I fainted. It was from there that I realized that my body could not take in chemical drugs, and that’s when I discovered herbal medicine.

Then in 2000, I began to build my own business. I started with only 1 kilogram of ginger, temu lawak and turmeric. For every kilogram, I was able to make 30 sachets of herbal drink. After receiving so much positive feedback and orders from friends and family, I had the confidence to grow the business. Now there are 10 instant drink products under Eufraino which have been distributed to most supermarkets in Manado, as well as stores in Tomohon and Tondano including Transmart Carrefour. My current production per year is 30,000 sachets. At the moment, I am starting to develop green tea, which has become somewhat a global trend. Green tea in powdered form is generally considered higher in antioxidants.

What sorts of challenges have you experienced in developing this business?

This business is not without its challenges. In terms of finding capital, I relied on bank loans. However we have been lucky enough to get support from the Ministry of Agriculture to develop our product. Business growth now has reached 10% every year. The Ministry of Cooperatives has also provided us with mentoring and coaching.

Can you share some of the other initiatives you have been involved in?

In 2011 I was also given a community award by the Ministry of Agriculture called the LM3 (Lembaga Mandiri yang Mengakar di Masyarakat) for outstanding achievement in agribusiness. Those who received the LM3 were directly recruited by the Ministry to work as coaches at the Rural Agricultural Training Center. Because a lot of agricultural output is sold unprocessed, its value is remains low. For example, rice farmers generally directly sell their harvest in its unprocessed form for around Rp.10.000 per kilo of rice. But when the rice is processed into flour, companies like Rose Brand sell bags of 100g for a lot more than the unprocessed rice itself. This is the value added from processing that we aim to promote to agribusinesses.

I have also visited various cities in Indonesia and abroad because of invitations to attend seminars and symposiums on herbal medicine. So my knowledge increases after attending each training session, seminar and symposium.

What do you hope for Eufraino going forward?

Our product is ready for export, especially our 3-in-1 drink consisting of mangosteen, temu lawak and red ginger. With the global health trend at the moment, there is definitely a market for it – particularly with its  great health benefits.

 

Reita Annur: Dompet Dhuafa

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Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Reita Annur. I am from Dompet Dhuafa, a humanitarian NGO and a Lembaga Amil Zakat (LAZ) — a national organization that has been recognized by the state. We collect funding from the Muslims community, specifically from the ZISWAF (Zakat, Infaq, Alms and Wakaf) community which is channeled to the dhuafa people or the needy. The reason why we follow this is because we are a unique NGO that receives funding but also provides funding for beneficiaries in accordance with the provisions of Muslims. As for Islamic funding, it is a requirement to have eight beneficiaries that come from Zakat. Whereas for Infaq and Wakaf, Wakaf can be more general idea – you do not have to be extremely dhuafa or ‘in need’. But we also receive investment funding from CSR companies for instance, because in addition to channeling finance for dhuafa community, we are also running a social enterprise which attracts investors. The profits from these investment will of course, return to the dhuafa community.

What kinds of women’s empowerment initiatives is Dompet Dhuafa running?

We run a variety of programs. One is the called Warung Perwira or Entrepreneurial Women which aims to empower women. Why did we choose to target women? Because in a lot of households, the husband’s income is often insufficient and not stable enough to sustain the family household. So educating women on how to be able to survive if anything undesirable happens, so they can be independent economically,  foster a household and also be a role model for their children.

What are the challenges in obtaining funding?

We are indeed facing challenges with fundraising outside of Indonesia. However, for the domestic NGO inshallah we already have the trust from the people of Indonesia. In terms of scaling up fundraising to go international, we are still lacking. In fact, we already know the theory of fundraising, it’s just that we are still not confident about the application and execution of it. The language barrier in making a proposal is also an obstacle.

What challenges have you faced in building this enterprise?

We strive to empower the people in need, or dhuafa. So the challenge is how to educate these people, improve their welfare and income at the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) level. However, in the implementation sometimes we collide with the characters that we help, because as a channel of Islamic funds, we give grants rather than stocks or loans. This character is sometimes a bit difficult to be formed so the success of a program that we run in area differs depending on the character of the receiver. With some programs in Central Java, we are very successful and even able to scale up the industry – for example, initially we built 10 dairy farmers and it is now almost a village, with the main income coming from milk dairy cows. We provided 10 cows initially, which has now reached nearly 200 dairy cows. However, when we conduct the same program in other areas, sometime we get different results. So, there are conditions – conditions on the ground that are sometimes out of our control. That is our challenge.

How can we help to minimize the fundraising gap?

At the moment, we need the skills and knowledge on how to scale projects up. We have been able to empower farmers and breeders which has resulted in the scaling up of production. Now we are looking to scale up both in terms of financing and skill. Hopefully this can be achieved soon.

Rizkia Meutia Putri – Community Leader in Lampung

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Tell us about yourself.

My name is Rizkia Meutia Putri. I am the co-founder of a community group called Jalan Inovasi Sosial (JANIS). JANIS is a social community that engages in social empowerment and community building with a particular focus on innovation. We aim to raise awareness about economic growth, education and environmental issues within the surrounding community in Lampung. One of the projects we have worked on is empowering the tourism industry within Kunjir village, which is located in South Lampung. Here, we see a lot of potential to develop tourism; however public awareness remains low. So, we decided to go to the village and help the local community to realize and develop that potential.

What is the story behind your initiative?

In Kunjir, there is an island called Pulau Mengkudu. It is one of the icons of Lampung, but unfortunately is not marketed very well and thus attracts few visitors. At the start, there were only 10 to 15 visitors per week, but after we conducted a few trips which aimed to empower and educate about the economic development of the community, the condition slowly improved. In the end, we were able to reach over 1000 visitors per month. From there, awareness about the environment also started to increase with people throwing garbage in the correct place. Before, not many of the local people worked; now, various business have opened there as well as tourist guard posts which has resulted in an increase of income for the community from 2 to 3 million rupiah per month from the money collected at each post.

This community has been running for 3 years. It is still sustainable as a tourist village and we still follow up until now. We want to innovate again in the village to attract more tourists to come back.

What are your current strategies to grow?

We are continually building on our tourism strategy to add attractions that can draw tourists back to the area. For instance, at the moment we are looking into agricultural tourism and hydroponics as points of attraction. This is the beauty of agriculture, because housewives and mothers can not only open eateries but also help create new attractions with visual appeal.

We also accompany youth. They are very creative. One of the youths crafted a local good that tourists ended up buying as souvenirs. From there, we realized that we need funding. So to fill in what is missing in our requirements and execution, we sought out support. Why walk alone if we can walk together? We are not alone because many communities and local partners support us. Our team really has a sincere intention and vision to give value to our community.

If we want to seek funding, then we must have a mature concept. At the moment, we are in the process of developing our concept again in the case that there are potential investors or donors who want to support the program. It is important that we refine our concept in order to attract more people.

As a woman founder, what barriers do you experience?

As a woman, your support network is really only the close friends around you because woman still get underestimated. Even for women who are aware of their own potential, it can still be hard. But as long as we can manage these feelings, it will challenge us and it will make us stronger.

How do you overcome challenges and stay motivated?

We recognize that our initiative is useful to others and that there are still people that can benefit from our efforts. If there is something or someone that stands in your way or undermines you, don’t focus on it. I chose to focus on the 1,000 people and the village community who benefits from our services. Just keep going.

Hasria Sarianto: Founder of Poklasar

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ANGIN Women’s Spotlight series seeks to showcase a diverse array of inspiring women leaders and their stories and experiences in order to shed light on the unique experiences of women in business. We hope that both men and women can gain from these shared experiences, that these stories can inspire change, and that other young girls are motivated to become leaders as well.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Hasria Sarianto. I run a food processing business called Poklasar, which stands for Kelompok Pengolahan Pemasar.  We process fish for consumption and sell to outside the area. I am also a women’s activist; I often look after women who have problems in their families. Through this work, I noticed that many women were treated badly – largely because they are dependent on the husband. Thus, some friends and I initiated Poklasar to empower housewives and give them economic independence. In fact, they are helping their husbands earn extra income. Poklasar not only received an award from the government but is also now a legal chapter recognized by the government.

What are some challenges you have faced in business?

Our business started in 2015, but we have encountered many obstacles including a lack of tools. For example, we don’t have enough equipment available to make our processed fish balls, nuggets, and makasang products.  We still chop the fish manually, which limits our production capacity despite the abundance of fish available.  Furthermore, people usually use tenggiri fish to make meatballs, but we use another type of fish for economic reasons.

If the first issue is about tools procurement, the second issue is obtaining funding to buy proper machineries needed to develop and grow the business. We crafted proposals to a government agency – DINAS – but they have to serve so many others that they certainly cannot contribute to our business group. As such, our business goes as usual and remains small.  

For marketing, we need help: creating better packaging to be more interesting. We also need to understand better about water content so that our products can last longer.  We need to hire professionals and need to learn more. Our processes are done the traditional way with very limited tools.

Is your business mostly women?

We only have one group consisting of 10 people who all play their respective roles. There are some housewives who make meatballs. The other group handles marketing. Most are housewives from the village and do not have the skills to work outside home. Hence, they did not have much to do other than maintaining the household and cooking. Now they no longer dependent on their husbands, since they can earn their own living. That’s the main purpose – we cans achieve gender equality through economic independence.

Are there still negative stereotypes about women in Manado?

Yes, particularly in the rural areas and in the coastal areas. The coastal area is about 2 hours away from Manado. Activists should also care about the coastal areas so that women will also be aware of their rights. Sometimes when people are deprived, they act differently.  But when they are empowered, they will believe that they can do anything.

Is the awareness of this issue better now?

It has gotten better as the the old cultures that limited women are finally relaxed as well. Women have a lot of potential, but they have never been given the opportunity or enough money.  

What was your previous job?

I am a housewife and started as a housewife as well. But I do social work because I actually got involved in many women’s organizations.

Why did you start this business?

I am a female activist. Many women came complaining because their husbands control the money and they felt powerless.  Later, many women became victims of domestic violence because they had no bargaining power with the men. Based on this, I believed that these women should be given space and opportunities to be independent and make their own money so that it would not be so easy to be harmed, beaten or cheated. I want all the women I can reach to feel that they are entitled to independence.

What challenges did you experience in obtaining funding?

Once, we requested support from the government because at the time, the government promised that the tools we needed would be prepared. But then the procurement did not match what we asked for and did not meet our needs. The goods ended up being stored and not used.

Are there still many women who do not dare to ask the bank for a loan?

Now it’s easy to get a loan. In our system, when one is married, it is surely the husband applying for a loan. In our country, it should be the head of the family, except if the wife is a single parent.

What are your thoughts about the future of this group?

There is a lot of potential; these women hope to make new development and change for a better future. I think this group will need to grow as well. But it it is constrained due to budget and funding, as it has been self-financed for a long time. Fundraising is still in dire need because my aspirations for the group are to actually have better results both internally and externally from the group.

Ria Pratiwi: WIZEL Project

Posted on | by angin

ANGIN Women’s Spotlight series seeks to showcase a diverse array of inspiring women leaders and their stories and experiences in order to shed light on the unique experiences of women in business. We hope that both men and women can gain from these shared experiences, that these stories can inspire change, and that other young girls are motivated to become leaders as well.

Please explain a little about your efforts.

My name is Ria Pratiwi and I run WIZEL Project. I recycle used jeans and use them as materials to make bags or pencil cases. Suppose I can market these products online and offline; I plan to save 10% of the profits.  The funds saved will be used for sewing training for unskilled mothers that only work at home — the housewives. I hope that in the future, through the training, they will be able to earn extra income to support their households and learn new skills.  They will not only be able to sew bags, but also clothes. However at present, I have difficulties in marketing the product despite having successfully created a good prototype.

What makes you build this business?

First of all, I could not find good and affordable products made of denim, particularly bags. I like products made of denim; it’s a good, strong and long lasting material. But it was hard to find a denim bag that isn’t too expensive.

Secondly, environmental issues. Nowadays, most people wear jeans and store them away  because they do not know where to throw them away. Many choose to cut their jeans or tear them apart. In my opinion, the usage is not optimized and it is probably better if we recycle them, convert them into something useful, and therefore give to people in need. Furthermore, I saw a problem within my own circle: my aunt is a housewife who does not work, but she has the ability to produce if only she was empowered. I wondered, “Why can’t I empower her and possibly other mothers later so they can be productive, gain skills, and earn more?”

What’s your fundraising strategy? How are you running?

At present, I am running on zero external funding. I collect jeans as donations from friends who do not want to wear these jeans any longer.  Then, I recycle them into bags. Currently the problem is mostly in financing the cost of the sewing machines. In the future I want to train more mothers and housewives, so we will need more tools that can support this program.

I will continue to look for access to funds because sewing machines are needed.  At some point, not all of the materials would be from donations. We may buy denim in rolls so that we can produce bags from both new and recycled materials. I intend for the recycling program to continue to exist.

What are some challenges you encounter in your business?

The challenge is getting these housewives to understand the upside of being a participant in this project. They need to be aware that they could help their families by having additional income. If they can produce the bags well, we can help them market them and sell them.

As a female entrepreneur, do you see any challenges in developing your business?

I am female and many investors are usually men. First of all, I am worried that they will not pay attention to me because I am a female. They probably question my ability since I am female and they might think that women can’t do something like this. I worry about these things when I meet prospective investors.

So this stereotype still exists?

Currently in Lampung communities, this stereotype still exists. In better educated communities, such beliefs have probably waned as they understand that women also have the potential and are capable.

How will WIZEL Project create impact?

First, I want to promote Sustainable Development Goal 12 of sustainable consumption and production by ensuring continuous consumption and production patterns. We as a society consume and buy clothes like jeans, but do not know how to recycle or reproduce.

Secondly, I can also create economic growth for these housewives I work with. 10% of the profit saved from every purchase will fund the continuous training.  I also plan to donate some of the bags to street children, orphanages or children who need school bags and pencil boxes for school. Hopefully by providing these basic needs, we can help them stay motivated to study and attend school.

Suriana: Founder of Lyvia

Posted on | by angin

ANGIN Women’s Spotlight series seeks to showcase a diverse array of inspiring women leaders and their stories and experiences in order to shed light on the unique experiences of women in business. We hope that both men and women can gain from these shared experiences, that these stories can inspire change, and that other young girls are motivated to become leaders as well.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m Suriana from Lyvia. We make a variety of fish-based specialty sambal from Manado. Not only do we make sambal, but also abon (fish floss), which we sell in supermarkets such as Carrefour, Indomart, local supermarkets as well as souvenir shops.

What made you start this business?

I used to be a housewife, but saw that in Manado there is a need to create jobs for women. We try to make products in fish processing because there is such an abundance of fish in Manado. Most of our workers are housewives because their husbands’ salary is not enough; they usually help the family business with work. At the moment we have three workers, including myself, making sambal in the house.

What challenges do you see in women’s society in your area?

Most women are left by their husbands, and some have do not have a job. We want to empower them to make money. In most cases the husband’s salary is not enough for their lifestyles, so they work. For my future mission, I want to open a gift shop. We want to empower mothers to be able to produce their own products and sell in the store. That’s my mission ahead.

What are some fundraising obstacles you’ve faced?

Because we spend most of our money on renting the workplace, I have difficulties with financing the main production. Some of my friends also want to help with production, but have limited time so only help with what they can. I hope to increase production, but also need to prioritize fundraising.

Have you been running for a long time?

It’s been four years. We’ve been in operation since 2014, but at that time monthly sales were only at most 20-30 bottles. Now in 2018, we sell 1000 bottles per month. We want to raise our target again and expand our marketing network. The only constraint for us is our size. At the moment, we are still small-scale, although we have worked with the team at Alibaba. One of our obstacles is that we don’t have a BPOM license. Applying to BPOM is very expensive, and you must have a kitchen dedicated solely to production. As a result, the production kitchen and private kitchen needs to be differentiated. So our production is still conducted in my house — a kind of home industry.

What aspects do you feel you need help?

We want coaching for how we can prepare our products to reach the international market. In addition, our packaging is not yet refined to compete with international brands.

As a woman entrepreneur, do you face specific challenges in developing your enterprise?

Yes certainly, because our model is limited and I am solely in charge of managing the business. Besides being helped by one or two people, we have limited time for production. We must seek funding for both the production machinery and for a production factory.

Why is the empowerment of women important to you?

An example are a few of my friends; they are unmotivated and confused about what to do with their time. I started this business to help them become more productive and not feel burdened by their various problems. I want to teach them how we as women and housewives can be productive and engage in wage work while still taking care of the house.