In the latest episode of Tanoto Foundation’s Bincang Inspiratif podcast, two alumni of the Tanoto Foundation Scholarship Program, Teofilus Hartono and Freddy Wijaya, share their inspiring journey of becoming young entrepreneurs. Coming from different backgrounds, they found common ground in their passion for entrepreneurship. This episode highlights their reflections on courage, continuous learning, and their commitment to creating meaningful impact. 

The Tanoto Foundation Scholarship Program played a pivotal role in shaping their paths—not only by providing financial support for their education, but also by equipping them with leadership skills, networks, and valuable experiences. Through the program, Teo and Freddy developed insights into vision-building, teamwork, and resilience—foundations that later proved essential as they ventured into the business world. 

In the podcast, Teo with his venture Mr. Suprek’s Smashed Fried Chicken and Freddy with Pupuk Dinosaurus (Dinosaur Fertilizer) share how the world of entrepreneurship has taught them many things they could never find in the classroom. reveal real-world lessons from entrepreneurship: navigating uncertainty, overcoming setbacks, and developing strategies that respond to society’s evolving needs. For Teo and Freddy, every challenge became an opportunity to grow, while every failure served as a stepping stone toward greater success. 

Most importantly, they emphasize that their businesses are not merely about profit, but about creating positive impact for communities. These values, deeply rooted in their journey as Tanoto Scholars, continue to shape their approach to leadership and innovation. The episode serves as a powerful reminder that when education meets vision and determination, it can nurture entrepreneurs who succeed not only for themselves, but also for the greater good. 

Watch the full episode here:

Jakarta, August 28, 2025 – Indonesia continues to face serious challenges in improving the quality of its human capital. According to the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI) 2020 report, Indonesia scored only 0.54. This means that a child born in Indonesia today is expected to achieve just 54% of their full productivity potential under ideal conditions. 

This figure is far below many other Asian countries. For comparison, Thailand scored 0.61 and Malaysia 0.62. This reflects persistent gaps such as unequal access to quality basic education, poor child nutrition, and limitations in the healthcare system—all of which affect human capital development. If left unaddressed, Indonesian children risk losing significant potential in skills, health, and productivity, making it difficult to maximize the demographic bonus and increasing the risk of falling behind in global competition. 

Through its Golden Indonesia Vision, the government has set ambitious targets to improve human capital so that by 2045, Indonesia’s young generation can compete on par with high-income nations. Under the Long-Term National Development Plan (RPJPN 2025–2045), the government aims to raise Indonesia’s HCI score to 0.73 by 2045. Achieving this requires long-term investment and breakthrough strategies—not only at the macro policy level but also by cultivating young development actors who can work directly on the ground, create solutions, and drive change. 

Responding to this challenge, Tanoto Foundation, launched the Tanoto Foundation Fellowship Program in 2024. This program provides opportunities for young people to be prepared as change leaders in education and other development sectors. Nine individuals were selected from thousands of applicants as the inaugural cohort of  Tanoto Fellows. 

On Thursday, August 28, 2025, Tanoto Foundation graduated these nine first-cohort Tanoto Fellows, who had completed a year-long journey working in Tanoto Foundation programs such as early childhood education, improving literacy and numeracy for primary and secondary school students, and enhancing soft skills in higher education. Their placements spanned three partner regions of Tanoto Foundation: North Sumatra, Central Java, and Kalimantan. 

From Papua to London 

At the same event, Tanoto Foundation also inaugurated 10 new Tanoto Fellows for the 2025 cohort, selected from more than 1,300 applicants. For one full year, they will immerse themselves in education and health ecosystems across Tanoto Foundation’s partner regions, learning from real-world practices while designing and implementing impactful development initiatives. 

The 2025 Fellows come from diverse educational and professional backgrounds, including: 

•  Julia Rosemary Tapilatu, a marine conservationist from Papua, founder of OurConservaSea, graduate of Universitas Papua (B.A.) and Texas A&M University (M.A.), active in coastal environmental education. 

•  Ghefira Auliya Rabbani, graduate of Universitas Riau, youth development leader, literacy advocate, and former Special Advisor for Innovation Acceleration at the Ministry of Youth and Sports. 

•  Kevin Angdreas, international political economy researcher, graduate of Asia Pacific University (B.A.) and London School of Economics (M.A.), with experience at INDEF, CIPS, and the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. 

•  Dinda Kayana Rizky, graduate of Universitas Brawijaya (B.A. & M.A.), co-founder of Urbanist Indonesia, dedicated to inclusive and sustainable urban development. 

•  Ansar Ahmad, Universitas Indonesia graduate, Head of Fundraising at Shantanu Indonesia, with grassroots empowerment and fundraising experience at Humanity First and LBH Jakarta. 

•  Arief Rahman Nur Fadhilah, career counselor and leadership trainer, graduate of Universitas Airlangga (B.A. & M.A.), experienced in youth leadership programs. 

•  Stephanie Dinda Iskandar, graduate of Universitas Indonesia, founder & CEO of Green Neighbour Indonesia, with policy research experience at Bappenas, the Indonesian Parliament, and think tanks. 

•  Jordi Hildianto, double degree graduate of Sampoerna University and University of Arizona, with strong youth leadership experience in mental health advocacy through UNICEF’s Helping Adolescents Thrive program. 

•  Salsabila Hardiyanti Warmanda, Universitas Indonesia graduate passionate about inclusive education, mental health, and social impact, active in initiatives like Sekolah Sehat Jiwa and Sadari Project. 

•  Eka Hermansyah, graduate of the International Islamic University (B.A. & M.A.), education professional committed to child rights and inclusive learning, with experience at SEAMEO CECCEP and Save the Children. 

This diversity demonstrates that development leadership is not confined to one field. From marine conservation to education policy and social inclusion, the Fellows bring expertise to tackle Indonesia’s future challenges. In 2025, they will be placed in four provinces: North Sumatra, Riau, Central Java, and East Kalimantan. 

A Unique Learning Model 

The Tanoto Foundation Fellowship Program applies an experiential learning model. Over one year, Fellows go through five stages: Induction, Immersion, Initiative Design, Initiative Implementation, and Final Reflection. They also attend leadership camps covering project management, monitoring and evaluation, sustainable governance, and impact investment. 

In addition, Fellows receive intensive support through one-on-one coaching, expert mentoring, and reflection tools such as journaling and critical reflection. This model ensures participants grow not only professionally but also undergo personal transformation as leaders. 

After graduation, alumni join the Tanoto Fellows Network, a lifelong learning and collaboration platform. With a growing alumni community, Tanoto Foundation envisions this program as a sustainable model that develops young leaders with both transformative capacity and social impact.

RAPP Complex, Pangkalan Kerinci, 24 July 2025 – The persistently high rate of educated unemployment and the low readiness of young leaders pose serious challenges on the road toward Indonesia Emas 2045.

According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the national open unemployment rate (TPT) as of February 2025 stood at 4.76%, with 7.28 million unemployed individuals. Alarmingly, the TPT among university graduates continued to rise, reaching 5.25%. This reflects a clear gap between higher education output and the real needs of the labor market.

This situation shows that academic degrees alone are not enough to meet the demands of the workforce and future leadership. Graduates need not only technical competence, but also relevant soft skills, leadership, collaboration abilities, and strong social awareness, especially in today’s VUCA era, marked by rapid and unpredictable changes.

Responding to this challenge, Tanoto Foundation, an independent philanthropic organization in education founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto in 1981, continues to be committed to encouraging the birth of university graduates who are ready to become impactful future leaders through its flagship program, TELADAN (Transformasi Edukasi untuk Melahirkan Pemimpin Masa Depan).

The TELADAN Program provides higher education scholarships to undergraduate students from 10 partner universities of Tanoto Foundation. Not only that, what distinguishes the TELADAN Scholarship Program from other scholarships is that Tanoto Scholars (the term for TELADAN program recipients) are also given structured leadership training from the second to the eighth semester to improve their leadership and soft skills.

Tanoto Scholars Gathering 2025: Learning and Leading

One part of the learning journey of TELADAN scholarship recipients is the Tanoto Scholars Gathering (TSG), an annual forum that brings together Tanoto Scholars from the same cohort from all over Indonesia to learn from each other, build networks, and strengthen leadership capacity.

This year, TSG was again held on 24–26 July 2025 at the RAPP Complex, Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau. A total of 291 Tanoto Scholars attended this activity. They came from Tanoto Foundation partner universities including IPB University, Diponegoro University, Gadjah Mada University, Brawijaya University, University of Indonesia, University of North Sumatra, Bandung Institute of Technology, Hasanuddin University, Mulawarman University, University of Riau, and Andalas University.

On the first day, the Deputy Minister for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Veronica Tan, who was one of the speakers, advised the participants of TSG 2025 that to become a leader, one must provide positive input to oneself and continuously strengthen their mentality.

The speaker on the second day, the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. Brian Yuliarto, said that university years are not only for studying but also for building other essential things for the future. Minister Brian also shared 12 characters to be successful.

On the third day, the CEO of Thisable Enterprise, Angkie Yudistia, shared an inspiring message about the importance of creating opportunities. She also advised Tanoto Scholars to become future leaders who have empathy, self-awareness, and a strong commitment to equality and are willing to collaborate with all parties.

Direct Learning from Sustainability Practices

First held in 2010, TSG brings together Tanoto Scholars from the same cohort from all over Indonesia to learn from each other, share, and network.

At TSG 2025, the theme carried was Learn & Lead: Becoming the Champion of Good (Learning and Leading: Becoming a Role Model of Goodness). Through this theme, Tanoto Scholars were invited to emulate impactful and sustainability-based leadership. This was implemented in the series of TSG activities which were specially designed.

First, Tanoto Scholars were introduced to the world of work and invited to see and learn firsthand how a sustainable business is built and developed through industrial visits to the business units of the RGE group, which was also founded by Sukanto Tanoto, the founder of Tanoto Foundation.

Then, they were also given the opportunity to learn from renowned speakers who were presented in person, from top government officials, academics, to public figures.

Not only that, Tanoto Scholars also received experiential leadership workshops such as outbound activities that sharpen teamwork skills, quick decision-making, and problem solving.

All of this aims to build Tanoto Scholars into leaders who have soft skills relevant to the working world, have leadership spirit, and are ready to make a positive impact in various fields and environments where they are present.