Arindra Irtonugroho
IPMI International Business School
Amelia Naim Indrajaya
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Community empowerment through Pojok Selera Program, by giving entrepreneurship training centered on non-rice-based food production for farmers, employee’s families and communities around Indofood’s operational area, in order to build and develop small and medium enterprises (UMKM) in the culinary sector, to help raise family income, either individually or collectively. This can also become as a social safety net, especially when farmers experience crop failure or while waiting for harvests.
The Pojok Selera Program is a form of mutual cooperation between Indofood and the farmers, employee’s families and the surrounding community. The program that has been started since 2010 is carried out by providing basic training in the field of culinary, like making bread and chicken noodles, because it is easy to run by the surrounding community. In some other community groups, they also taught how to create various food creations such as cakes, donuts, brownies, pastries, spring rolls, chips and others from ingredients that are Indofood products. Some Indofood’s products are used as follows: flour, cooking oil, soy sauce, chili sauce, noodles, sweetened condensed milk, processed spices and others.
After the people know how to make food, then they will be taught on how to sell their products both online and offline, marketing management, and also how to manage finances, manage their cash flow so as to achieve economic independence and sustainability.
People who have succeeded in developing their business will be the change agent who will share their knowledge with other communities, so that the perceived impact will be greater and the goal of achieving economic independence for the wider community throughout Indonesia is more easily achieved.
Indofood has conducted a social mapping in the neighborhood, started from Bogasari Division then to other divisions. From the results, it can be concluded that majority people who live around Indofood’s factories are not yet economically independent, the unemployment rate is still high. Also, the farmers who have been Indofood’s suppliers (while waiting for their harvest to come) need another financial income.
Indofood feels responsible for helping them, but the company doesn’t want to provide assistance that is just philanthropic. Quoted from the interview, “avoid to provide fish, but to facilitate their fishing rods”. So the company has innovated their business model to create community empowerment, as a part to support government programs for Millennium Development Goals. This will not only give sustainable impact for the community as mentioned in the company’s mission that is to contribute to the welfare of the society and environment in a sustainable manner, but also will give benefits to the company, because it is in line with the company's business strategy for using Indofood's products.
Therefore, Pojok Selera program was initiated in 2010, started with small group of people who live around Bogasari Division. The training was aimed for creating entrepreneurs in the culinary field, from small group to grow and become a lot of culinary SMEs. The name of Pojok Selera, which means The Corner of Taste, was chosen because it is representing the small group who will offer the taste of food.
For the short term goals, this community empowerment program helps to create and develop Small and Medium Enterprises in the culinary sector, encourages various food creation, and helps employment so as to create sustainable economic independence. As evidenced by the emergence of culinary SMEs that now have their own market share and some of them already have their own product brand, for example in Ciketing Udik Village.
For the long term, the program is still running to be disseminated to all operational areas of Indofood throughout Indonesia, which will contribute in improving the nation's economic growth. For example, the program in Cibitung Area which newly started in 2018 was guided by some villagers of Ciketing Udik, who once were Pojok Selera’s participant who are succeed right now.
Pojok Selera Program by Indofood created and develop many SME’s in the culinary sector. When SME’s product sales rate rises, then the use of Indofood products as raw materials also increases. Thereby increasing the profit not only for SME but also for Indofood. Profit has been earned by the company for almost 8 years since the program began in 2010. This is because the program has been in line with the company's business strategy.
In terms of corporate reputation, for SMEs that have shown success, they add some information on their product packaging labels, that they are guided by PT Indofood.
The company also received CECT CSR Awards in 2016, an award from Trisakti University for CSR Performance in Each Fundamental Aspect: Community Development, and Indonesia Social Business Innovation Award 2016 for category of Entrepreneurship Development Program.
With the formation and development of SMEs culinary sector, it will boost the food industry, creating new entrepreneurs who support the country's economic growth, reduce the unemployment rate with the absorption of labor, so as to create sustainable economic independence.
Products produced by SMEs have their own label and market share. A well-trained, established community for example from Ciketing Udik will serve as an example to other communities, share the knowledge throughout Indonesia by the change agents who are successful program participants.
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PT. Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk. (IDX: INDF) is a producer of various types of food and beverages based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The company was founded on 14 August 1990 by Sudono Salim under the name of PT. Panganjaya Intikusuma which on 5 February 1994 became Indofood Sukses Makmur. The company exports its products to Australia, Asia and Europe.
Over the last two decades, Indofood has progressively transformed into a Total Food Solutions company with operations in all stages of food manufacturing, from the production of raw materials and their processing, to consumer products in the market. Today, it is renowned as a well-established company and a leading player in each business category in which it operates. In its business operations, Indofood capitalizes on economies of scale and a resilient business model with four complementary Strategic Business Groups (“Group”), namely: Consumer Branded Products (“CBP”), Bogasari, Agribusiness, and Distribution.
