The Indonesian Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs welcomed the 2018 Soprema Business Incubation Event by YouSure, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM. This event has supported the government program in sparking the young generation’s interest in entrepreneurship.
“Your presence and social business are essential. However, the government has limited scope while there are areas that cannot be reached,” said Youth Entrepreneurship Assistant to Deputy Minister, Imam Gunawan, at Bulaksumur B Building, Tuesday (9/25) during the event opening.
Imam revealed some factors become obstacles in the process. Instead of resources, the government is often lacking in ideas. Even so, when they have the ideas, the number of experts is insufficient.
“Prospective social entrepreneurs are needed to strengthen the elements. Some of them are the government and community. A strong community indicates the modernity of a country because non-modern countries are centralized,” he said.
He opined that a person may create a non-social entrepreneurship for personal benefit. However, they would question about the meaning and interpretation of their own business in the end.
“It’s a choice, but they might question themselves for whom or what their success was meant to be. At present, facts show that there are individual successes that fail to interpret their existence.”
Therefore, the output of entrepreneurial activities becomes a measure of the effort that is created and its usefulness for other people.
“You can be a capitalistic and individualist entrepreneur but still wonder about the meaning of your success. This is where the humanitarian and social aspects while also providing life and empowering others become the measure of success.”
Imam stressed that the current success measure of a company is when it has successfully involved the local environment and brought influence to the society.
“The success of sociopreneurship includes giving material impact, facilities, and meaning to life. We are successful and we also make others successful.”
Attended by 37 participants, the 2018 Indonesian Youth Sociopreneurship (Soprema) was held for two days from 25-26 September at Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM and University Club Hotel. The event started with a business incubation program for sociopreneurs throughout Indonesia.
The participants came from Sulawesi, Maluku, Sumatera, Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, and Java. They are the finalists of Soprema and other sociopreneurship competitions from the previous year.
Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM, Dr. Erwan Agus Purwanto, M.Si., hoped the program can accelerate the development of social entrepreneurship in Indonesia. The participants are able to develop their business intensively and optimally, thereby providing bigger social impact to the community.
Besides learning and practicing, the participants can also expand their networks with fellow participants from various regions in Indonesia.
“It is a manifestation of the academic sector’s positive contribution in solving social problems faced by Indonesian youth. The 2018 Soprema is a medium to encourage the creation and development of their ideas in creating the country’s prosperity. Who knows it could start businesses such as Bukalapak and Tokopedia,” explained Erwan when opening the event.