TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Kama Batik, a social enterprise based in Pekalongan, Central Java, came out as one of the winners and received S$20,000 in funding. Novi Anasthasya Purba, the co-founder of Kama Batik, said that their idea was to utilize the textile waste produced by batik industry in the region.

“There are so much waste generated from the industry, we teach women in Pekalongan how to create accessories or flowers from fabric scraps,” she said at the finale of Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSE) event in Suntec City, Singapore. Novi added that the participants of their enterprise must be unemployed women whose households make less than Rp 1 million per month.

In addition to Kama Batik, five other social enterprises also won funding from the YSE program. The enterprises are Nomad, Praxium and PsychKick from Singapore, and Saadhan from India.

Fifteen teams of young innovators competed as finalists of the Young Social Entrepreneurs held by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF). Five of the social enterprise teams hailed from Indonesia, bringing forth business model with a social impact within their community.

The finalists went through eight months of incubation period to improve the business model of their social enterprise. Jean Tan, the executive director of SIF, explained that the young entrepreneurs received mentorship from volunteers from McKinsey&Company and Temasek.

Novi said in addition to valuable knowledge and insights from experts, they also made new network and contacts from different countries. “Moreover, friendship with other social entrepreneurs from different countries made me realize I’m not alone in trying to make a social impact through sustainable business,” she added.

AMANDA SIDDHARTA