Tanoto Foundation supports the Indonesian Government in Increasing the level of Entrepreneurship

Friday, 30 October 2015 – Entrepreneurship has a huge influential value in the progress of a country towards prosperity. The higher the level of entrepreneurship in a country is, the higher its economic growth will be. Currently, the amount of entrepreneurs in Indonesia reaches 1.6% of the total population of 250 million citizens, which is precisely at 4 million.  This number is considerably low, hence, the government, through the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, set a new entrepreneurship target of 2% of the total population. Essentially, the government needs an additional 1 million of entrepreneurs in the next few period of time.

To support the birth of more entrepreneurs, Tanoto Foundation, in partnership with Masters of Management of Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia (MM FE UI), held a Tanoto Entrepreneurship Series. The event, which was held since 2011, invited the attendance of successful Indonesian entrepreneurs to share tips and insights for success in entrepreneurship to students of MM FE UI.

 “Entrepreneur holds a significant value because they produce innovation. This innovation is what will subsequently be capitals to improve productivity, the opening of new market, as well as economic growth,” Imelda Tanoto, Member of Board of Trustees of Tanoto Foundation, explained.

 “My father, Mr. Sukanto Tanoto, practiced innovations in expanding the business model of Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Group. His principle focuses beyond profit or bottom line per se. He believes in the principles of 3Cs, Good for Community, Good for Country, and Good for Company. Therefore, he brought the involvement of partners in collectively expanding their business, which eventually would increase their prosperity,” Imelda Tanoto added.

Furthermore, Sukanto Tanoto also possesses three character that led him successful in pushing RGE Group to become a global company. The first character is to focus on understanding all dimensions of business, and to be able to respond to the dynamics in all of the business’ ups and downs. Secondly, it is the spirit of perseverance. The third character is continuous learning and continuous improvement, in which he always learned from his mistakes, fix it, and always aim to achieve the best out of his products and services.

Tanoto Entrepreneurship Series 2015 was held in the Auditorium of MM FE UI building, Salemba, invited the attendance of Boenjamin Setiawan, founder of PT. Kalbe Farma Tbk, and Hariono, founder of KASA Group.

Boenjamin Setiawan was widely known as an entrepreneur of strong vision. He has faced failures in the early stage of his business ventures. However, with hard work and the persistence to learn, he successfully led Kalbe Farma to become one of Asia’s biggest pharmaceutical companies.

Hariono, who successfully built food and beverage and lifestyle companies, including Midori Japanese Restaurant and Bersih Sehat massage parlour, is an entrepreneur that can quickly discover rooms for opportunities in the market. The abundance of competitors in the same industry did not hinder his companies to grow. In fact, his companies continue to grow as Hariono remains committed in innovating the products and services according to the customers’ demands.

Tanoto Entrepreneurship Series was part of Tanoto Foundation’s contribution to inspire young generation in becoming entrepreneurs in Indonesia. Several entrepreneurs that have shared their entrepreneurship experience in the series include Joko Widodo, Jusuf Kalla, CEO of Blue Bird Taxi Nono Purnono, CEO of Garudafood Sudhamek, and the Minister of Maritime and Fishery, Susi Pudjiastuti.

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For further information, please contact the following:

Lestari Boediono, Head of Corporate Communications

Phone: +62 21 392 3189, Fax: +62 21 392 3324

Email: lestari_boediono@www.tanotofoundation.org

About Tanoto Foundation

Tanoto Foundation, which was established by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto, has a vision to become a center of excellence in the effort for Poverty Alleviation through Education, Empowerment, and Enhancement of Quality of Lives. In the realm of education, Tanoto Foundation supports the improvement of accessibility and quality of education in Indonesia.

In order to improve the accessibility of education, Tanoto Foundation has rewarded scholarships to more than 5,400 students and university students, as well as working in partnership with 28 Universities in Indonesia. Moreover, to improve the quality of education, Tanoto Foundation works in partnership with over 320 schools in North Sumatera, Riau, and Jambi. Among the programs operated are to develop the capacities of teachers in classroom-based teaching and learning, training for students to improve their habit to live clean and healthy, as well as supporting students to improve their fascination in reading books.

In the realm of Community Empowerment, Tanoto Foundation works with corporate partners, PT. Riau Andalan Pul and Paper. One of their programs is to train 3,400 farmers in the Integrated Farming System. Tanoto Foundation also works with other corporate partners, including Asian Agri. The programs were developed to raise the income of more than 3,600 independent farmers who manage in approximate 11,000 hectares of sustainable palm oil plantations.

In the realm of Enhancement of Quality of Lives, Tanoto Foundation works with corporate partners to run programs such as health and development of clean water and sanitation facilities.

For further information, please visit: staging2-tanotofoundation-org.averis.emerain.net