Jakarta – The Covid-19 pandemic across Indonesia has created profound multidimensional impacts on society, ranging from employment losses to sharp reductions in household incomes.

On Thursday, December 17, 2020, Yayasan Inspirasi Indonesia Membangun (YIIM), generously supported by its primary partner PT Insight Investments Management, collaborated with Bung Karno University (UBK) to provide business equipment and venture capital grants to three high-achieving, deserving UBK students.

This grant initiative marks a continuation of the fruitful partnership between YIIM and UBK. Previously, UBK awarded higher education scholarships to two alumni from YIIM's entrepreneurship programs—Humam Hasan (barista class alumnus) and Hermanto (barber class alumnus)—who are currently studying at UBK's Faculty of Economics.

This initiative is implemented within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

The student recipients were selected after passing a rigorous business proposal evaluation conducted by the YIIM assessment team.

The selected student entrepreneurs include Alfian Haviz, who established an information technology service startup named Samsara.pro, and Thea Aprilia, who operates a custom t-shirt brand called Neochology.

Both Alfian Haviz and Thea Aprilia are outstanding fifth-semester undergraduates determined to achieve financial self-reliance in funding their educational tuition and personal living expenses.

The third recipient is Rosalia Maria Babys with her culinary enterprise, Sorong-style Spanish Mackerel Fish Meatballs (Bakso Ikan Tenggiri Khas Sorong). Rosa is a dedicated fifth-semester migrant student from Flores, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), who exemplifies academic excellence, self-reliance, and a vision to generate employment for grassroots communities through her enterprise.

The venture equipment grant provided to Alfian Haviz (Samsara.pro) consisted of a high-performance laptop, a laptop cooling pad, a mouse, modern programming manuals, and a registered web domain.

For Thea Aprilia (Neochology), the support comprised a comprehensive stock of t-shirts across various sizes tailored for screen printing designs, greeting cards, and display racks. Meanwhile, Rosalia Maria Babys received commercial cooking and culinary sales equipment, a freezer, a mobile food cart (gerobak bakso), dining tables, chairs, and foundational food production ingredients.

These millennial grant recipients will be linked with YIIM's alumni empowerment network to foster mutual collaboration. Thea's apparel business will partner with YIIM screen printing alumni for production and marketing, while Alfian's Samsara.pro will provide digital marketing infrastructure for vocational graduates running independent microenterprises.

Furthermore, Rosa's fish meatball business will connect with YIIM culinary and baking training alumni to facilitate skill-sharing workshops in meatball preparation.

"This assistance is dedicated to outstanding UBK students committed to building independent lives. In addition to fortifying their financial independence, this program establishes an inspiring role model for higher education in nurturing a generation of resilient, innovative entrepreneurs," affirmed YIIM Chairperson Chrisbiantoro.

Salam Inspirasi!