On the Road to Lestari Market Day: Meet the 12 Teams Building Sustainable Enterprises from Zero
There are many sayings out there that youth is the future of every nation. We could not agree more. Youth will always shape the future of our world. In 2018, youth (aged 15-24) comprised more than 15% of the world’s population. In Indonesia, it is reported that there is 64.92 million youth across the archipelago, accounting for around 23.9% of the total population.
When talking about youth, it is often inseparable to describe them with the words “high spirited”, “creative”, and “idealistic”. They have a lot of creative ideas and are indeed creatures with a high spirit to meet their ideals. We have all been young once. But more importantly, we met and engaged with numerous youths to understand that their ideas and creativity usually revolve around building or making something that can generate a good impact.
One common example is building a small business based on their certain expertise. Why is this a common example? First, it generates sufficient money for youth to thrive. Second, it gives them the “freedom” to shape their business model the way their ideals aspire it to be. In addition to that, we also know that small business is the core vessel to the growth of every country in the world. In Indonesia, more than 99% of businesses are micro, small, to medium enterprises (MSMEs). MSMEs keep the economy running, healthily.
With the current devastating condition of the environment and society, many — if not all — youths are getting more conscious, and they are seeking “a way out” to restore the balance of the world. This consciousness combined with their ideal to build something impactful while still being grounded in reality, starting a business is among the options many youths choose in the hope to bring impact to the economy while taking care also of the social and environmental aspects.
Unfortunately, not everyone is born with the privilege to easily build a business, be it about the resources, network, or capacity. This finding is what sparked the birth of our INKURI program. We are reaching out to underserved youth across Indonesia to equip them with the skillset, knowledge, and adequate resources to realize their business ideas that are conscious of their impact socially, environmentally, and economically.
After the success of our pilot boot camp program at Ende back in 2018-2019, we aspire to expand our impact to another area that is heavily impacted by the pandemic, Bali. Famous for its tourism industry, the pandemic has drastically decreased the number of tourists visiting Bali. Hundreds of thousands of Bali's population have lost their jobs. For an island that has been dependent on the tourism industry for decades, Bali needs to adapt quickly to strengthen the economy. Fortunately, Bali is blessed with abundant agricultural and food resources that are often overlooked. In addition to that, art is also another sector that has been flourishing in Bali. Both sectors are promising but have not been utilized at their maximum potential.
Seeing this, INKURI aims to empower Balinese youth to build economic resilience that focuses on three main sectors: agro-food, art, and tourism. We have empowered more than 250 Balinese youths to collect their ideas and have intensively mentored 12 teams to build their business sustainably. We are excited to introduce these amazing 12 teams who have been working hard to launch their business:
Agro-food
Gumitri
Provide healthy snacks made of organic rice, partnering with farmers from Subak Uma Lambing, Subak Sangeh, and Jatiluwih.
Belutin
Provide eel farming products that preserve the environment, partnering with community organizations in Bali, especially Subak.
Kopuri
Provide innovation in robusta and herbal organic coffee powder by partnering with coffee farmers in Pucaksari, Buleleng.
Canephora
Provide high-quality coffee beans at a fair price for the farmers, partnering with coffee farmers in Pajahan village, Tabanan.
Art
Pranee
Reduce water pollution by creating organic and eco-friendly detergent.
Bagudaya
Empower local artisans in Bali Timur to utilize gebang fiber to make natural home decoration.
Metangi
Improve farmers’ living standards by processing corn husk agricultural waste into eco-friendly paper in collaboration with corn farmers and collectors in Klungkung.
Luna Pads
Reduce waste by providing reusable and environmentally friendly sanitary pads by empowering underprivileged housewives in Singaraja.
Muspa Bhakti
Process plastic waste into a multi-functional product by empowering housewives in Tabanan.
Tourism
Bendega
Build mangrove ecotourism to restore the marine ecosystem and improve local communities’ economy by partnering with Nelayan Simbar Segara dan Mina Werdhi Batu Lumbang.
Travelearn Indonesia
Bring back local wisdom in Bali through education tourism.
Omahyang
Restore North Bali through a forest planting program for carbon offsets in partnership with disability organizations, traditional institutions, and other institutions in Klungkung.
Their businesses will be launched at the Lestari Market Day that will be held on August 13, 2022 at Park 23 Creative Hub, Kuta, Bali from 12.00 to 16.00 (GMT+8).
In this event, the teams will go through a pitching session and showcase their product. From 12 teams, the best 6 teams will receive funding for their business. Many stakeholders from institutions and organizations across Bali such as Smesco Indonesia, the Office of Cooperatives and Small & Medium Enterprises of Bali Province, and other local government bodies will be present at the event. Aside from product showcases from INKURI participants, Lestari Market Day will also be filled with existing green MSMEs in Bali to commemorate the National Day of MSME on August 12, 2022. To enliven the event, Lestari Market Day will also hold a panel discussion about the future of Bali's economy with Bali Province Development Agency, Mitra Bali Fair Trade, Lingkar Temu Kabupaten Lestari (LTKL), and Niluh Djelantik.
INKURI would not be possible without the immense contribution of our funders, partners, and supporters that have walked with us throughout this journey. From fellow NGOs, donor institutions, and philanthropies, to government bodies, they have made our journey possible. We are also proud to say that what we are doing is in line with the vision and mission of the local governments in Bali. We wish to expand our network and reach more Indonesians to accelerate positive impact and bring Indonesia towards more green, just, and inclusive development.