12 small entrepreneurs receive Citi Micro awards

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Twelve small entrepreneurs from across the country received Citi Micro-Entrepreneurship awards Thursday in recognition of their outstanding business initiative.

Loisa Lies Wally, a betel seller from Papua, won the first prize in the trade category in recognition of her creativity in selling betel, which is rarely traded.

Almost 90 percent of Papuans like to chew betel but most of them prepare the betel themselves. Loisa manages to sell around 700 packs of betel daily.

"The award has encouraged me to ask more people to get involved in the same business," Loisa told reporters after receiving the award.

Stanislaus Anwar from Magelang, Central Java, and Halimah from Tangerang, Banten, came second and third, respectively, in the trade category.

In the foodstuffs category, Sulastri, took first prize with her innovative snacks made from banana stalks. Agus Supriyanto and Wismawati, both also snacks producers, came second and third in the foodstuffs category.

Suratinah from Magelang, Chandra Nanda from Bengkulu and Hoiri from Lampung came first, second and third, respectively, in the crafts category, while Endang Kusumawati from Parigi Mautong, South East Sulawesi, Sunarno from Lampung, Sumatra, and Syahlul Munaf from Batusangkar, West Sumatra, came first, second and third, respectively, in the services category.

Each winner received a prize of Rp 11 million (US$ 1.220), while the second and third-placed runners-up each took home Rp 9 million and Rp 7 million, respectively.

Director of the University of Indonesia's Small and Medium Business Center, Nining I Susilo, said the committee this year put more focus on how these small entrepreneurs influenced their surroundings.

"We concentrated on how far these small business people could develop and maintain their social responsibility toward others in their surroundings," Nining said during the awards ceremony.

Ditta Amahorseya, senior vice president country corporate affairs at Citi Indonesia, said the winners were now expected to inspire others to develop their businesses in cooperation with microcredit institutions.

According to Ditta, the Citi group has sponsored the competition to the tune of US$170,000 over the last three years.

The awards were first presented in 2005.

This year's winners were selected from among 763 participants throughout the country based on detailed interviews and long-term monitoring conducted by a special team comprising representatives from the University of Indonesia, media and financial institutions. (dic)