Jun 2, 2023 – An impactful initiative mobilized by Prestasi Junior and supported by corporate partners and the Ministry of Education and Culture is the JA Company Program. This experiential learning program has been operating in Indonesia since the inception of our organization and involves establishing and guiding businesses run by high school students with the help of business volunteers. Corporate partners such as AIG, Starbucks, Combiphar, Zurich Indonesia and the Z Zurich Foundation have contributed to the propagation of these business units through funding and volunteering over the last year. Their impact has been significant as it has provided the impetus for young Indonesians to consider entrepreneurship as a means to achieve a sustainable income. It has also been wholeheartedly endorsed by the Ministry of Education and Culture – we are now an official education partner of the Ministry and this relationship enables us entry into schools to enable student and teacher engagement in the JA Company Program.
During the annual implementation of this entrepreneurship education initiative Prestasi Junior conducts Regional Competitions to select the best student run business and these progress to the National Competition. This year the national competition was held at Kota Kasabalanka Mall involving a team of ten judges who represent the business world. The judging panel was originally established with the support of the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia. In 2023 these judges selected the Sievasco Student Company from State High School 81 Jakarta to progress to the level of the Asia Pacific competition held in New Delhi. Competing against the 11 of the best representative enterprises from other Asia Pacific countries the students from Indonesia won the following awards;
1. Best Business Operation Overall
2. Best Product
3. Best Business Video
We were pleased that the Education Attaché from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia personally attended the prize-giving ceremony and witnessed Sievasco’s success first-hand. These students now proceed to the Global competition where they will compete against the champion teams from Africa, Middle East/North Africa, Europe, Latin America, and USA. They have a number of months to prepare for this event which, if they win, will provide them with a prize of USD15,000. The student company at State High School 81 Jakarta has been supported by Combiphar and it has been their funding which has enabled Sievasco to progress to this ultimate stage of the business competition. It is great to have an Indonesian Company achieving success alongside these Indonesian students.
We are almost ready to establish a new 2023/2024 generation of students in schools located in Medan, Jakarta, Bogor, Bandung, Jogjakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Makassar, Denpasar, and Jayapura. Each of these companies will be guided by Prestasi Junior Program Officers and supported by business volunteers. They have a monumental task ahead of them if they wish to replicate their seniors from 81 Jakarta. However, we know that there is massive potential within the schools in which the JA Company Programs operate as the Sievasco success follows that of other Indonesian student run businesses at the Asia Pacific Level;
2014 – 3rd in Singapore (Yogyakarta)
2017 – 2nd in Tokyo (Semarang)
2018 – 1st in Beijing (Tangerang)
2019 – two Indonesian teams entered in the Philippines competition and they were placed 2nd (Denpasar) & 3rd (Semarang)
2020 – 2nd online (Denpasar)
2023 – 1st in New Delhi (Jakarta)
Given that over the period indicated in the record above the teams from Indonesian schools have been competitive at the Asia Pacific region (Kazakhstan to Guam) and we continue to encourage students to reach their potential and establish successful micro-enterprises. We are mindful of the values these young Indonesians must possess and apply within the operation of their micro-enterprises and work on instilling these throughout their business operations.
