“I believe that entrepreneurship is not only a way to improve his family’s economic well-being but also an opportunity to provide positive social impact to the surrounding community.”
Yafeth started his business, Highland Coffee, by selling green coffee beans supplied from local farmers in his hometown in Lanny Jaya Regency, Papua. The less competitive price and declining market demand for this product led Yafeth to switch to selling roasted coffee beans. As the one and only native Papuan who has a roaster certification and has a roasted coffee machine, he decided to change the name of his business to Highland Roastery.
The Youth Entrepreneurship Education Program provided Yafeth an opportunity to improve the skills of operating a business. Previously, his ‘commercial’ operation was unstructured and did not include such necessities as business plannings and financial recording and reporting. He subsequently learnt that by calculating more competitive and profitable selling prices and better product packaging, he is now one of the trusted coffee suppliers in a number of restaurants and cafes in the Papua region.
Yafeth believes that entrepreneurship is not only a way to improve his family’s economic well-being but also an opportunity to provide positive social impact to the surrounding community. Yafeth and his business partner, Phondabee Cafe, established a special coffee promotion event that was paid for not with money but with books and stationery. He then distributed these books and stationery to schools in remote areas. In addition, he also educates the coffee farmers about how to care for coffee plants to increase the productivity and quality of coffee beans. For him, business is not just for profit but should also bring positive impact and inspiration to other young people so that they are driven to utilize the many opportunities and resources that exist in Papua.