The Karya Salemba Empat Scholarship is an extraordinary scholarship in my opinion. Not only does it provide financial assistance, but it also equips recipients with soft skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, and research. This is achieved through the numerous training sessions organised by KSE.
My journey to becoming an entrepreneur began when I received a scholarship from KSE. I am an alumnus of the Faculty of Public Health, UNDIP. I was a KSE scholarship recipient from 2013 to 2016. I enrolled at UNDIP in 2012. At the beginning of my studies, I was unsure whether to continue or not, as there was a building fee of 20 million rupiah. Both of my parents are farmers, so the building fee left me and my parents struggling to pay it. Ultimately, after seeking solutions and meeting with the student affairs office, the building fee could be paid in instalments each semester.
My determination after entering university was to find a scholarship to help ease the cost of tuition. In the end, I was accepted as a recipient of the KSE scholarship in my third semester. I am very grateful to have been accepted as part of KSE.
Starting with Leadership training, Entrepreneur Academy, and Technology For Indonesia. I started my business after participating in entrepreneur training at KSE. I was determined to pay for my own tuition without burdening my parents. In the Social Entrepreneur Camp and Young Entrepreneur Spirit competitions, thank God, I won prizes. I won second place in the Social Entrepreneur Camp, and first place in the Young Entrepreneur Spirit competition.
I tried everything I could sell. There was an opportunity to sell mobile phone credit after the training, so I tried selling mobile phone credit using various methods, and it ended up selling well. I also sold plane and train tickets and provided tour travel services.
I dared to start a business thanks to KSE. Many of the speakers at each training session motivated me to never give up on starting a business. I decided to stop asking my parents for money starting in my fifth semester, because, thank God, my scholarship and business were enough to pay for my tuition and living expenses.
My parents actually want me to work in a company as an employee or become a civil servant. However, I still feel hesitant because I have been selling things since college and the results have been quite good, so it seems like a waste to give it up.
I told my parents that if they would give me their blessing, I wanted to try focusing on the clothing industry for a year. I said that if I saw results after a year, I would ask for their blessing to continue. However, if I didn’t see any results after a year, I would give up and look for a job. Alhamdulillah, through hard work over the course of that year, I was finally able to prove to my parents that my passion and livelihood truly lie in the business world.
I graduated from university in October 2016. Previously, Maarif Konfeksi was still working with partners. Due to various obstacles in working together, in 2017 I decided to start my own business by recruiting employees and contracting my own production house. I had the courage to start my own business after consulting with my mentor at KSE.
When I first started Maarif Konfeksi, I had three employees. Thank God, now I have 14 permanent employees and 15 contract workers. The leadership and entrepreneurship training I received at KSE has been very useful in leading Maarif Konfeksi today.
Apart from advertising, KSE’s network throughout Indonesia has been very helpful in attracting customers. From Aceh to Papua, Maarif Konfeksi has gained many loyal customers. Maarif Konfeksi’s turnover is now stable, and we are able to achieve our target of 2,000 pieces per month. I am optimistic that my business will continue to grow in the future.