Oct 10, 2020 – A first for Prestasi Junior Indonesia – after many years of conducting the Indonesia Student Company of the Year competition in city mall locations this year the event took place online and it was a great success. After selection of teams at each regional level nine student-run business operations competed for the honour of the best enterprise through the submission of a company report, business presentation, panel interview, and financial statement. On hand were ten excellent judges representing the world of business (for example, MMC, AmCham, Freeport Indonesia, and PwC). PJI was totally impressed with the commitment and professionalism of these jury members all of whom dedicated nine hours of their day to engage and assess student company performance in addition to finding time to assess company reports.
The online event began with opening remarks from Bapak Juandanilsyah (Coordinator for Student Affairs – Directorate of Senior Secondary School, Ministry of Education and Culture RI), Mr Robert Ewing (Economic Counsellor, US Embassy Jakarta), and Bapak Siddharta Moersjid (PJI Board Chairman). The judges then set about the task of interviewing four representatives of each business operation and assessing the quality of responses to their questions. Neither the judges nor students faltered throughout a lengthy series of sessions of Q&A and, consequently, the jury team were faced with making some serious decisions late afternoon. For the winners stood to win IDR5,000,000, the honour of being awarded the best student run business in the nation, and the possibility of representing Indonesia at the Asia Pacific level in 2021 – so a lot was at stake.
After deliberation by the jury panel the winning teams achieved the following awards:
First Place : SMA Karangturi Semarang – D’Eagle SC (supported by Citi Foundation)
Second Place : SMAN 71 Jakarta – Sevone SC (supported by Citi Foundation)
Third Place : SMKN 20 Jakarta – Nature Piece SC (supported by AIG Indonesia)
Best Financial Management : SMA Karangturi Semarang – D’Eagle SC (supported by Citi Foundation)
Most Innovative Product : SMA Muhammadiyah Cileungsi (supported by Caterpillar Foundation)
Best Digital Marketing : SMA Karangturi Semarang – D’Eagle SC (supported by Citi Foundation)
Young Entrepreneurs’ Choice : SMAN 71 Jakarta – Sevone SC (supported by Citi Foundation)
Four corporations have supported the implementation of the student company program over the last 12 months in Indonesia. The Citi Foundation and Citi Indonesia has worked with students in five Indonesian cities and volunteer impact has made a significant difference. The AIG Indonesia team worked with Jakarta teams and are very proud of the achievements of the students from State Vocational school 20 in Jakarta as they proved to be extremely competitive. The Caterpillar Foundation provided significant support for 12 schools in the areas of West Java and Batam and, with an emphasis on schools serving lower income communities, the positive impact has been palpable in every school. The students from Tuban were supported by excellent ExxonMobil Cepu Limited volunteering and support. They had the opportunity to participate in a competition of this nature for the first time with the experience building their knowledge and self-confidence. The support of WhatsApp has been special as they have provided a prestigious Digital Marketing Award, mentored students, and provided an online business catalogue which enables student-run businesses to post their products and secure interest from potential customers.
The pandemic has not thwarted PJI’s efforts to support school-based business enterprises. It has only prompted us to adapt and encourage our beneficiaries to do the same as they seek to make the most out of challenging economic conditions. We look forward to a continued presence in schools in support of promoting young entrepreneurs in 2021 with the support of our great business partners.